The United States' top intelligence agency, Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI) says that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) is the most dangerous and deadly extremist organization in the
world. The official website of FBI in its tops story said that LTTE is
far more dangerous terrorists outfit than al Queda, Hezbullah or even
HAMAS. Read more...

..... Latest
News, 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week, Archives since 1998 .... This Web
Site is exclusively dedicated to counter the mis-information campaign of
the LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists
.......

What is really happening
in Sri Lanka today is that a blood thirsty racist group led by
some misled Tamils called LTTE is terrorizing against the Government
of Sri Lanka and its people irrespective of their ethnicity with an
intention of carving out a separate state. There is no conflict as
such between Sinhalese and Tamil communities in Sri Lanka. In fact,
the majority of the Tamil community lives in peace and harmony among
the Sinhalese population through out the country apart from the
Northern part of Sri Lanka. The entire Sinhalese and the Muslims
population who lived in the Northern area for centuries were either
killed or chased away completely by the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists.
At the moment, not a single Sinhalese or Muslim is living in Jaffna,
but, many thousands of Tamils are living in Colombo in peace with
the other communities. Based on 2001 census, the Tamil population in
Colombo district is 12.1% (see
2001 census). So, who is discriminated ? Tamils or Sinhalese? Do
you need more evidence ?

President in Jordan on phone with
Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
informs President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Commander in Chief of Armed Forces
now in Jordan on the latest update in the battlefield and the good news.

What is this good
news ?

The Sri Lankan
president has declared a military victory over the Tamil Tigers after 26
years of bloody civil war. Speaking on a visit to Jordan, Mahinda
Rajapakse said he would return home to a nation totally free from the
"barbaric acts" of the rebel group.

Washington
Times Editorial says ......Failing that,
the Obama administration should mind its own business. The Sri
Lankans are winning; we should let them finish the job (Read
full Editorial).

Washington
Times Editorial says ......We can only
imagine American satisfaction if we had al Qaeda in this position.
It is unconscionable for the United States to castigate its Sri
Lankan ally for prevailing in its war against terrorism. The Tamil
Tigers have purposefully created the conditions for a humanitarian
crisis and deserve neither amnesty nor mercy. There are ways to help
resolve this standoff that will not allow the Tigers to snatch
victory from the jaws of defeat, such as providing military and
intelligence support for pinpoint strikes against the terrorist
leadership (Read
full Editorial).

Washington
Times Editorial says .... The Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam, one of the world's most violent terrorist
outfits, are surrounded in northern Sri Lanka and about to be
destroyed - but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and
European self-styled peacemakers are getting in the way of victory.
The meddlers should let Colombo finish off this menace. ...... Last
week, Mrs. Clinton played into the hands of the terrorists by
blaming the Sri Lankan government for the crisis. "The entire
world is very disappointed" that they were "causing such
untold suffering," she said (Read
Washington Times Editorial).Also
read A reply to the Secretary of State from USA Citizens (Sri Lanka
Defence Ministry)

13th
Amendment ........

The ordinary
Tamil people don’t care about 13 or 17 amendments. What the
ordinary Tamils want is to get on with their day to day life, get on
with their agri work in the field, chena, sea, or in the offices and
live a peaceful life which they experienced before 1983. We never
thought of discrimination, aspiration, grievances before 1983. It
was the politicians who planted these poisonous seeds into our
hearts and minds. Grievances are there not only for the Tamils but
even to the poor Sinhalese people in the South. That’s common to
any nationality.

See
what LTTE did for the Tamil civilians trying to flee the "Human
Shield" of the LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists

“Tamil Tigers”,
also called “The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam” (LTTE) declare that
they are fighting the government of Sri Lanka to “liberate” the
Tamils. During the past three decades of their “liberation struggle”
they forcibly abducted an estimated twenty thousand children as young as
ten and converted them into human bombs or cannon fodder. Tamil parents
who objected to the forcible conscription of their beloved children were
tortured or killed in front of their families. Finally, after seven
futile attempts at internationally facilitated peace talks and ceasefires,
all of which were reneged by the LTTE, the democratically elected Sri
Lankan government decided that the only way to liberate the Tamils from
the clutches of the LTTE was to eradicate the oppressors. Sri Lanka
learned the hard way that any “ceasefire” interval given to these
abominable terrorists would be used by them to recuperate, regroup, rearm
and attack without warning. Tigers, once the world’s most feared
terrorists, are now confined to a few square kilometres of jungle where
they have corralled innocent Tamil civilians to be used as human shields.
If not for the Sri Lankan government’s concern for the safety of
civilians, the LTTE would have been wiped out from the face of earth many
moons ago. Tigers make sure that those who try to escape into
government declared safe zones are mercilessly killed, mostly burnt alive
and the corpses are displayed as a deterrent to others who would try to
escape. These photos were taken by a brave Tamil who managed to escape to
a safe zone only last week
(Read full report).

The monies
that have been collected by Tamil Diaspora for LTTE war chest runs
into billion of dollars during the past three decades. But, where
are we now? What have Tamils achieved over the years? Tamils have
earned nothing but humiliation and misery. There times I am ashamed
to call myself a Tamil to avoid humiliation as Tamils are branded as
a set of terrorists.

The Tamil
Diaspora should at least realize now that LTTE’s days are numbered
and any funds collected for LTTE will benefit only Pirapaharan and
his top LTTE hierarchy. Pirapaharan educated his son with your
money. His wife is running around the world seeking a safe haven
with your money. Pirapaharan built couple of luxurious bunkers with
all the modern facility with your money. It is therefore still not
too late to stop financing the dying LTTE; stop organizing protest
marches, demos and rallies as the Sri Lankan government is not going
to stop now until LTTE who also brought misery to the Tamils is
completely defeated.

"Tamil
Hitler - Made in India" Prabhakaran, who
killed Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, is now seeking help from
India.

I
reminisce with joy and happiness the days before 1983 - I reminisce
with joy and happiness the days before 1983 when LTTE killed 13
soldiers in Jaffna and provoked the Sinhalese in the South to
retaliate. We were living with Sinhalese, Muslims, Burghers, Malays
like brothers and sisters and that harmony was shattered. We all
were one family of one mother Lanka. But unfortunately, LTTE brought
us down to ghettos and taught us to hate Sinhalese people. What have
we achieved over the last three decades? We have lost our cream of
Tamil political leadership sparing only a few like Ananda Sangaree.
LTTE killed our educated Tamil politicians; LTTE killed our
intellectuals like Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam, Kethiswera Loganathan,
Sam Thambimittu and many others including many Tamil politicians at
parliamentary level to village council level. The many youth both
men and women sacrificed their lives in this unwanted terrorist war
launched by LTTE and ably supported by TD creating a big vacuum in
the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. The Tamil minority, once the next
biggest ethnic group to Sinhalese has dropped down to third place by
Muslims overtaking in terms population. Who is responsible for this
catastrophe? We the Tamil Diaspora and LTTE should bear the full
responsibility.

LTTE
Tamil Tiger Terrorists are using 'civilians as shields',
despite constant urges made by the Sri Lanka Government for
the release of thousands stranded in its clutches".

Those who
are expressing concern about the security of civilians in the
Wanni have stopped short of calling for action against the LTTE,
which is using people as a "Human Shield" in
Kilinochchi and Mulaitivu. The Sri Lankan government has made
arrangements to accommodate civilians to be evicted from the
theatre of war, as it successfully did in the Eastern Province.
If the LTTE lets go of civilians, the question of their security
won’t arise. Therefore, it may be argued that anyone who
laments about the plight of civilians without faulting the LTTE
or pressuring it to release people in its clutches is, either
wittingly or unwittingly, helping further the LTTE’s cause.

SPUR child
sponsorship programme, called Ranaviru Daruvan, was aimed at helping
the children of soldiers who had sacrificed their life or limbs in
the war being waged against terrorists in Sri Lanka. In this
programme

also included children living in villages under the
constant threat of terrorists and had already faced terrorist
attacks many times (Click
here for details)

Apiwenuwenapi.co.uk
is the official web site of the Api Wenuwen Api fund raising
campaign in UK. The “Api Wenuwen Api Fund” is a collaboration
between the The Ministry of Defence and the Central Bank of Sri
Lanka to build 50,000 houses for the serving Tri-Service personnel.

Thawalama
Development Foundation

No. 5,
Rajakeeya Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

The
Thawalama Development Foundation (TDF) was established on 1994
April 25th to support and assist in the implementation of
Project Thawalama approved by the Ministry of Defense on 1994
January 14th. http://thawalama.org

Rana Viru Fund is established
to provide support for the disabled soldiers in Sri Lanka with the support
from Sri Lankans around the World. Donations to Rana Viru Fund can be made
to our Bank Account and via PayPal..

A full project report will
be furnished to all donors at the completion of each phase. If you have
donated last time and have not received the Project Report for Phase 1,
please write to us at ranavirufund@yahoo.co.uk and we'll send a copy. See
details in www.ranavirufund.blogspot.com

Please help us to help those
who paid a supreme price for us to live in a Terror Free Country !

A senior Labour MP in UK has
become embroiled in an investigation by anti-terrorism police after
speaking at a rally in which suicide bombers were praised, The
Sunday Telegraph (UK) has learnt (click
here to read more details).

Click here for details- (Please use the facts given in the above
sub-webpage in lobbying media, politicians, NGOs etc). Tamil Tiger
Terrorists have released only 23 out of many hundreds of children
abducted as child soldier after Tsunami. They should release all
child soldiers.

11 July 2008 - Four people including a mother
and a son and two other females were killed and 25 others sustained
injuries yesterday as LTTE cadres hiding in the Yala National Park
opened fire at a Sri Lanka Transport Board bus plying from Moneragala
to Kataragama. The incident took place between 50 and 51 Kilometre
posts on the Buttala - Kataragama road around 10.30 a.m (read
details).

05 June 2008 -Huge
Time Bomb Defused Before Five Minutes of its Explosion - RAGAMA:
A MASSIVE BLOOD BATH, intended to caused by explosion of 2.5 kg time
bomb near a crowded bus halt and a filling station at ALAPITIVALA road
MAHABAGE, RAGAMA was prevented just five minutes before its explosion
Thursday (5) evening at precisely at 8.25 p.m.. Had the arrival of the
Army Bomb Disposal Unit got late to defuse by five minutes, it could
have exploded causing a huge carnage on the busy town spot. The Bomb
Disposal Team defused it at 8.25 p.m. before it was set to explode at
8.30 p.m.. (Full
report in Sri Lanka Army).

05 June 2008 -Huge
Time Bomb Defused Before Five Minutes of its Explosion - RAGAMA:
A MASSIVE BLOOD BATH, intended to caused by explosion of 2.5 kg time
bomb near a crowded bus halt and a filling station at ALAPITIVALA road
MAHABAGE, RAGAMA was prevented just five minutes before its explosion
Thursday (5) evening at precisely at 8.25 p.m.. Had the arrival of the
Army Bomb Disposal Unit got late to defuse by five minutes, it could
have exploded causing a huge carnage on the busy town spot. The Bomb
Disposal Team defused it at 8.25 p.m. before it was set to explode at
8.30 p.m.. (Full
report in Sri Lanka Army).

04 June 2008 - Another
bomb has been exploded by the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists in a
location along the rail track between Wellawatta and Dehiwala railway
stations this morning (04 June 2008). It is believed that the bomb had
been triggered off targeting the Colombo bound highly crowed passenger
train (read
details and photos).

30 May 2008 - Sri Lanka
police personnel on duty at the main bus stand, Moratuwa have found a
claymore mine inside a public transport bus around 9.30 pm, today (May
30). According to the police sources the bomb has been found inside a
parcel placed under the rear seat of the bus that completed its trip
from Colombo. The bomb has not been armed, but the detonator and few
electrical batteries have been found with the bomb, the sources said.
Air Force bomb disposal team defused the bomb, the sources added (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

26 May 2008 - 7 civilians
were killed including a pregnant mother and 73 more passengers
suffered injuries when the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists exploded a bomb
inside a highly crowded Colombo-Panadura train around 4.55 p.m on 26
May 2008 (see
details and photos).

24 May 2008 - Ganemulla -
Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force (STF) bomb disposal team defused a
time bomb weighing 1.25 kg this evening found in a public transport
bus at Kossinna in Ganemulla (May 24, 2008).

25 April 2008 -
LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorist's Black Friday Massacre on 25 April 2008
killing 26 and injuring 64 civilians, including a Buddhist Monk on 25
April, 2008. Twenty four civilians returning home after a hard day’s
work were killed and another 40 including schoolchildren were injured
when a fully packed bus bound to Kahapola was exploded by LTTE Tamil
Tiger terrorists at 6.45 p.m. at the Piliyandala bus terminal, near
Colombo, Sri Lanka. This bomb attack clearly showed that the
LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists are not ready to abandon violence and
destruction even though the Sri Lankan Government had repeatedly
pledged its commitment to peace (Details
and photos in SPUR Web page).

29 January 2008 - Madhu
Bus Bomb Blast - Seventeen civilians, including 11 school children,
were killed on Tuesday in an accidental explosion of LTTE Tamil Tiger
Terrorist's claymore bomb on a school bus in Mannar district. This
territory is held by the LTTE (29
January 2008)

05
January 2007 - LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorist
kill 6 innocent civilians and injures another 63, by exploding a bomb
in a public passenger bus at Nittambuwa, near Colombo in Sri Lanka on
Friday, 05 January 2007 (Read
full Details in SPUR Web Page)

Last two
Sinhala Employees in Jaffna .....
- In fact, two decades ago, the last of the Sinhala employees
of the Cement Corporation and Lanka Cement numbering nearly
180 had to leave KKS within eight hours under threat by the
LTTE terrorists. MKN may not know that these ruthless
terrorists woke up the General Manager and Deputy General
Manager at two in the morning, marched them and placed them
against the wall of the Cement Corporation and shot them dead
point blank. These two officers were keen and had helped the
people of KKS whose livelihood depended on the cement
industry. These two officers were Sinhala (Island
26, August 2008).

The following
photograph shows the luxurious life of Prabhakaran's wife and her two
children

the above
photograph shows a Tamil child who refused to join LTTE as Child
Soldier killed by the LTTE

Enough is Enough -
It is now clear to everyone that all these terrorist activities are being
planned and executed by the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists living in lodges in Colombo.
Therefore, the Sri Lanka Govt should take immediate actions to inspect all
these lodges in Colombo and arrest suspected LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists.

An
Appeal to the Defence Secretary

Open
Letter to Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary, Government of Sri
Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka - By Asoka Weerasinghe, Canada (03 January 2008) Click
here for the full letter.

Open
Letter to Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary - Flush out
undesirables in Colombo - By Vajiragnana Warnakulasuriya, Melbourne,
Australia (04 January 2008) - Click
here for the full letter.

A Plea from a Retired Tamil
Public Servant living in Colombo, Sri Lanka (read
details).

Enough is enough –
Please take steps to eliminate terrorism - By Ben Silva, United
Kingdom (read
full letter)

The following
photograph shows the luxurious life pf Prabhakaran's son, Charles Anthony

British Foreign Secretary
Davis Miliband's Grave concerns of human lives .......
The secret behind the ‘grave concerns of human lives’ of these
superpowers are very clear. World politics and arms trade are closely
linked. Arms manufacture and dealing is a highly profitable global
business. It is estimated that yearly, over 1 trillion dollars are spent
on military expenditures worldwide. The United States is the top supplier
of weapons to the developing world, accounting for around 36% of worldwide
weapons sales, followed by Britain and Germany. Western Arms Manufacturers
needs battlefields to sell their Arms. An estimated 500,000 individuals
die in small arms-conflicts every year, approximately one death per
minute. Are these people concerned for the loss of innocent lives or their
loss of business? The Washington Times Editorial http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/26/tigers-at-bay/
(Sunday, 26 April 2009) should be an eye-opener to those masters who still
believe that there is something extraordinary under their blue-eyes and
white skin.

Worldwide
Protests against the current Norway Government and the LTTE
Tamil Tiger Terrorists Atrocities (Read Norway
and LTTE)

It is immoral that LTTE
Tamil Tiger Terrorists want innocent Tamil children to fight the war
for them. There is simply no excuse, no acceptable argument for
arming innocent Tamil children http://www.spur.asn.au/childwar.htm

Let's carry the important
message given by Ven Rathana thero to all donor countries
-Ven Rathana thero used the
golden opportunity tactfully to directly address the representatives
of all the donor countries and international lending agencies to
expose the LTTE. Now, it is the responsibility of all patriots to
carry the initial message given by Ven Rathana thero to all donor
countries, by explaining in details the danger of this so-called
secretive Joint Mechanism (SPUR
Media Release)

The link
between LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists and the Tamil Rehabilitation
Organisation (TRO)

Over
7,000 NGOs in Sri Lanka; Now NGOs are running the country
undermining Sri Lanka's sovereignty. A commission is required to
investigate the hidden agenda's of this NGO Mafia, and expel them
from Sri Lanka(see
details)

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

Also known as
The Tamil Tigers, the Eellalan Force, the Ellalan Force, the Tiger
Movement, the Sangilian Force, the Air Tigers, the Black Tigers (Karum
Puligal), the Sea Tigers, the Tiger Organization Security Intelligence
Service (TOSIS), the Women's Combat Force of Liberation Tigers (WCFLT)

Description
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a Sri Lankan-based
organization which advocates the creation of an independent homeland in
the north and northeastern part of Sri Lanka which it has called
"Tamil Eelam". Its war against the government of Sri Lanka has
been fought on three fronts: a political campaign, guerrilla warfare, and
a terrorist campaign. The LTTE is committed to using a variety of terror
tactics in order to achieve its objectives, including attacking political,
economic, religious and cultural targets, as well as targeting civilians.
The LTTE's campaign has included plans to create Tamil-only northern and
eastern provinces, and to this end it has aggressively expelled non-Tamils
from these regions. The LTTE also endeavours to eliminate moderate Tamils
and other Tamil militant groups that compete with it for influence and
power within the Sri Lankan Tamil community.

World Tamil Movement

Description
The World Tamil Movement, created in 1986, is the leading front
organization for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Canada.
The various offices of the WTM in Canada transfer funds to bank accounts
in Sri Lanka meant for the LTTE. The leadership of the WTM acts at the
direction of leaders of the LTTE. WTM representatives canvas areas in
Canada with large Tamil populations demanding large donations on behalf of
the LTTE. Refusals to contribute often lead to threats and intimidation.

APRC Proposals ....... The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has
already warned the government that it would face dire
consequences, at the forthcoming budget, if it backs the APRC
proposals for a Federal State. JHU and MEP representatives of
the APRC have publicly denounced the Chairman for his efforts
to undermine the mandate received at the last presidential
election for a unitary state. The persistent attempt by the
Chairman of the APRC to sell a set of proposals based on the
very same report of the expert panel, rejected by the main
political parties (SLFP.JVP, JHU, MEP etc) who were
instrumental when bringing the present regime into power,
could drag the ruling circles into a difficult situation
unless remedial action is taken in
time.

Open Warrant Issued to Arrest Prabhakaran

High
Court judge Sarath Ambepitiya issued an open warrant through
the CID to arrest Prabhakaran and three others who were
absconding. He said the LTTE leader was guilty on 51 counts
and each count carried 20 years in jail making a total of 1020
years. But for practical purposes the Judge said he was
imposing the sentence only on the first ten counts making a
total of 200 years in jail.

Since
the restoration of democracy in the Eastern Province, the Sri Lankan
Government has allocated Rs. 6.2 billion for its development.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa
and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, Chief Minister of the Eastern Province
(Commonly known as Pillayan, who joined the LTTE at the age of 14 as a
child soldier and gave up the armed struggle and choose the way of
democracy) at the opening ceremony of the Arugam Bay Bridge.

Canada
bans World Tamil Movement

A Toronto-based non-profit
organisation has been outlawed by Canadian Cabinet under the
Anti-Terrorism Act, in what may signal an aggressive new approach to
combating terrorist financing in Canada.

Public Security Minister
Stockwell Day announces Monday in Toronto that the World Tamil Movement
has been added to the government’s list of terrorist groups. (Adrian
Wyld / CP)

Prabhakaran
is directly responsible for the death of over 80,000 innocent Tamils, Sinhalese and
Muslims.

The
Sri Lanka Government proudly requests the public to hoist the National
Flag today at every home, building and vehicles worldwide to mark the
great victory over terrorism that has been achieved by the heroic Sri
Lankan Security Forces.

Prabhakaran's body found - Army Chief - Commander
of Sri Lanka Army General Sarath Fonseka has confirmed that the body of
V.Prabhakaran, psychopathic leader of world's most barbaric terrorist
outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been found short while
ago (May 19). According to the defence sources, the LTTE leader who has
ordered thousands of Tamil youth to give up their lives for him has tried
to save his life until the last moment. The 4th Vijayabahu Regiment(4 VIR)
troops led by Lt. Colonel Rohitha Aluvihare under the 53 Division
commanded by Major General Kamal Goonarathne, have found the bullet ridden
body of the terrorist leader lying on the bank of the Nanthikadal lagoon.
According to our defence correspondent at Wanni, the body has been
positively identified as Prabakaran's by MP Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan
and Daya Master (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

The
victory of the Sri Lankan Security Forces over the World's most ruthless
Terrorist organization is due to it's professionalism and supreme
dedication.

Tuesday,
19 May 2009

Megalomaniac terrorist
Prabhakaran Killed - The last inch of land under
the control of LTTE was liberated by the valiant Security Forces. This
totally eliminated all top LTTE leaders, and the balance terrorist cadres
trapped inside when troops foiled their last bid to escape from the Safe
Zone in the early hours of yesterday disguising as civilians. Many bodies
of top level Tiger leaders including that of Charles Anthony, the elder
son of Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, Intelligence Wing leader Pottu
Amman, Military leaders Jeyam and Lakshman, Political Wing leader Nadesan,
Peace Secretariat Chief S. Puleedevan, Black Tiger leader Ratnam Master
and LTTE Police Chief Ilango were identified among hundreds of Tiger
cadres killed during the fierce battle that erupted in Karayanmullivaikkal
area in the early hours of yesterday. Vineetha, the Sinhala wife of the
LTTE Political Wing Leader and former LTTE Police Chief Nadesan was also
among the killed along with hundreds of Tiger cadres. The military were
busy looking for the body of Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran who was
also believed to have been killed during the fierce battle that raged in
the early hours of yesterday (Full
report in Daily News).

Velupillai
Prabhakaran - was born in Velvettithurai on November 26, 1954.
In 1975, after being part and parcel of the Tamil movement, he
carried out his first political murder assassinating the Mayor of
Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, by shooting him at point blank range
while the Mayor was about to enter the Hindu temple at Ponnaalai.
The assassination was carried out in response to the 1974 Tamil
conference incident, and the Tamil radicals blamed Alfred Duraiappah
for his links with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) as well as for
allegedly betraying the Tamil nationalist sentiments in Jaffna. Over
three decades of civil war, Prabakaran had committed many crimes and
destruction targetting leaders, Security Forces and innocent
civilians. As he created bloodshed and mayhem and untold suffering
in the country this also severely damaged the economy of the
country. The LTTE assassinated the head of the State and political
leaders including Tamil politicians and Government officials who
failed to obey his orders. He was wanted by Interpol for terrorism,
murder, organized crime and conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Charles
Anthony - Head of
the LTTE's Information Technology Division and Air Wing Charles
Anthony , 24, is the eldest son of LTTE leader Velupillai
Prabhakaran. He led a series of attacks on military establishments
in the country. The body of Charles Anthony was found by the
Security Forces while several terrorists were attempting to evacuate
his body. It was reported that he planned the air attack on the
Katunayake Air Base on March 26 which claimed the lives of two Sri
Lanka Air Force personnel. He was placed in ranks on par with the
deputy leader which created cracks within the outfit. Charles
Anthony studied Aeronautics Engineering and Information Technology
in England while the youth in the Mullaitivu and Killinochchi were
denied their right to education by forcibly conscripting them to its
fighting cadres.

Pottu
Amman - Sanmugalingam Sivashankar alias
Pottu Amman is the Head of the Intelligence Wing of the LTTE. Pottu
Amman is in the Interpol's wanted list for his involvement in
various terrorist atrocities in Sri Lanka and India. He was indicted
by the Jain Commission of India for his involvement in the murder of
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Pottu Amman who joined the LTTE
in 1983 was the Head of a coastal camp in Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu
where he was kidnapped by the People's Liberation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE)
and later freed in 1983. He was also in charge of planning LTTE's
covert operation and the mastermind behind many operations
targetting VIPs and key locations.

Soosai
- Thillaiyampalam
Sivanesan alias Soosai is the Head of the LTTE's Naval Wing which
was established in 1984. Born on October 16, 1963 Soosai joined the
terrorist outfit in 1981 with Pottu Amman who was later promoted to
the position of Intelligence Wing Leader. He is behind a series of
attacks targetting Naval craft. The Sea Tiger Wing carried out a
number of suicide missions targeting Naval craft. Soosai is in the
most wanted list of Interpol. The Wattala Magistrate Court has
issued arrest warrants on him over charges of terrorism..

Ramesh
- The LTTE's Special
Commander for Batticaloa and Ampara Districts Colonel Thambirajah
Ramesh who was killed by the Security Forces yesterday was appointed
to Karuna Amman's place as the latter left underground. Ramesh was
later removed from the post and Bhanu was appointed to replace
Ramesh by the LTTE leader.

S.
Pulidevan - Chief of LTTE's Peace Secretariat S. Pulidevan was
also killed by the Security Forces yesterday. Pulidevan along with
other terrorists abandoned the Peace Secretariat building in
Killnochchi after Security Forces started liberating the territory
under the defacto control of the LTTE terrorists.

P.
Nadeshan - P.
Nadeshan was the head of the LTTE's Political Wing after S.P. Thamil
Selvam was killed by an air strike. He was a Police Constable of the
Sri Lanka Police Department. He was among the LTTE representatives
who participated in the negotiations with the Sri Lanka Government
in Geneva. Nadeshan was the Chief of LTTE Police before his
appointment as Political Wing Leader and added new wings to the LTTE
police during his tenure as Tamil Eelam Police Chief. He added
traffic, crime prevention, crime detection and information bureaus
to the LTTE Police. Nadeshan's body was found by the Security Forces
during a mop up operation carried out yesterday

Vultures
in Western countries who had sinister plans on Sri Lanka are now
defeated !!!

Meanwhile, defence sources on the
field said that troops are now conducting search and clear operations in
area. Troops have so far found over 200 bodies of LTTE cadres along with
large stocks lethal weapons. Troops strongly believe that all top LTTE
cadres including its chief V. Prabhakaran have been killed in today's
fighting. The identification process is being continued (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Butcher slaughtered
Prabhakaran, son, Pottu Amman, Soosai, Nadesan, Pulidevan all killed; UAV
used in frantic search for the fleeing ambulance carrying prized
terrorists - The Sri Lanka Army in the
early hours of yesterday (May 18) thwarted an attempt by LTTE leader
Velupillai Prabhakaran, his son Charles Anthony and several other senior
cadres to escape in two vehicles, including a seized army ambulance,
killing them all. The army had fired at the speeding vehicles, military
sources said. Among the dead were LTTE Intelligence Wing leader Pottu
Amman, Sea Tiger leader Soosai, S. Pulidevan, head of the so called Peace
Secretariat, Nadesan, political wing leader and Ramesh. The daring escape
bid was made amidst a two-pronged assault spearheaded by suicide cadres
launched on the 53 and 59 Divisions at 1.30 a.m. on Sunday. Authoritative
sources said that as the army battled the lagoon borne attackers, the LTTE
leaders had slipped in to the government-held area and seized the
vehicles. The LTTE had sacrificed about 100 cadres to facilitate
Prabhakaran’s escape. But the army had acted swiftly to block escape
routes. Sources said that the SLAF had deployed Israeli built Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to help track down the vehicle. During yesterday’s
chaos, the SLAF had checked with the Navy after detecting a cluster of
small boats operating in close proximity to Jordanian ship Farah III run
aground off Karaymullivaikkal. The detection fuelled instant speculation
whether the LTTE was making an attempt to evacuate its leader (Full
report in Island).

A monster laid to rest -
So, in the end the hoity-toity Big Tiger died a ‘fraidy cat’. Having
killed thousands of people and driven a similar number of his own
brainwashed cadres to suicide in vain, Prabhakaran the self-deified
warlord together with a group of his trusted lieutenants including his son
died a violent death at the hands of the army, while fleeing the
battlefront in an ambulance leaving his followers to their fate. That he
was a coward of the first order was no secret but hardly anyone expected
him to die in such a shameless manner. Where was his cyanide capsule?
Prabhakaran's downfall had to do with hubris, racial hatred and
unspeakable cruelty. Blunders of successive pusillanimous and gullible
governments stood him in good stead. Ill-planned military operations
half-heartedly carried out to deal with terrorism, bitter infighting and
corruption in the defence establishment kept him going for thirty long
years. Peace processes only gave him succour and strength to emerge
stronger (Full
Editorial in Island).

Mission accomplished - The
Service Chiefs formally informed President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday
that the country had regained its full independence, territorial integrity
and sovereignty after the defeat of the LTTE terrorist group. At a solemn
ceremony held at Temple Trees yesterday the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa, Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Donald Perera, Army
Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka, Air Force Commander Air Marshall Roshan
Gunatilaka, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda the Inspector
General of Police Jayantha Wickremaratne and Director General Civil
Security Department Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera officially informed
the President that the military operations in the country had come to a
conclusion. At 6.35 in the evening Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
who led the commanders of the three forces informed President Mahinda
Rajapaksa that the final military operation against the LTTE terrorist
group had reached its conclusion with the defeat of the LTTE. The service
commanders, also reported the completion of their mission.. Present at the
solemn occasion were Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, President’s
Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa
MP, and several ministers, Member of Parliament and Government officials.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will address the nation today on the
liberation of the country from terrorism after more than thirty years (Full
report in Daily News).

Triumph over terrorism -
It was the moment that Sri Lankans were waiting for 30 long years – the
end of the ruthless terrorism of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Valiant Security Forces have reported to the President that their mission
to defeat terrorism was over. The architect of this magnificent triumph
over terrorism is none other than President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who
announced on Saturday that the Forces have finally defeated the LTTE
militarily. “I will be going back to a country that has been totally
freed from the barbaric acts of the LTTE. This freedom comes after 30 long
years. My Government’s precise and well coordinated humanitarian
operation has so far succeeded in rescuing over 210,000 civilians who were
being used as human shields by the LTTE,” President Rajapaksa told world
leaders in Jordan (Full
Editorial in Daily News).

Asgiri Mahanayaka pays
tribute President Rajapaksa - Most Venerable
Mahanayaka of Asgiriya Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Thero attributed the
victory over the 30-year-old LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka to President
Mahinda Rajapakse’s commitment and right direction and guidance at the
right time to the security forces. He said that LTTE terrorism grew so
forcefully and strongly because the previous heads of State failed to take
the right decision at the right time. If the previous leaders had the
courage and vision the LTTE terrorism would not have become so strong to
destroy so many valuable lives and State properties the prelate told a
delegation from the Joint Free Media Forum which called on him Sunday..
Secretary of the Media Forum Ajith Jayasundara, Vice-President Sujeeva
Manage and Advisor Premalal Keppitigoda comprised the delegation (Full
report in Island).

‘It’s time to
re-build the Motherland’- Foreign Affairs
Deputy Minister Hussain Bhaila said the defeat of the LTTE terrorism was a
forgone conclusion but it was a matter of time before the LTTE was
completely defeated by the Armed Forces. We should salute the commanders
and and the members of the Armed Forces for their valiant efforts and
sacrifices made to defeat the ruthless group of terrorists and for their
great humanitarian civilian rescue operation that the Armed Forces
conducted with sympathy for the helpless civilians of the North, he said.
It is now a time for all communities to get together and work towards
rebuilding our motherland which has been terrorised by people who have had
no love even for their own community, Bhaila said. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa has already set in motion the process to find devolution of
power method and there is no reason for anybody to resort to any violence
to achieve any political objectives he said. We have proved that by
defeating the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world. The
people of Sri Lanka are able to withstand any pressure whether internal or
external to safeguard democracy and the safety of its citizens the Deputy
Minister noted (Full
report in Daily News).

A new beginning for Sri
Lanka - When President Mahinda Rajapaksa
returned to Sri Lanka after cutting short his visit to Jordan he came to a
country that had at long last been united after a fractured three decades
when a group of terrorists supported by it’s foreign backers were bent
on its dismemberment. His emotional return where his knelt on the tarmac
and touched the ground of his motherland upon landing not only brought a
lump to the throats of the millions of Lankans who watched the scene on
TV, but was also a symbolically charged gesture signifying a new beginning
for this nation (Full
report in Daily News).

IN A BBC RADIO 4
PROGRAMME KARUNA AMMAN SAYS PRABHAKARAN’S DOWNFALL STARTED AFTER HE GOT
RAJIV GANDHI ASSASSINATED - By Walter
Jayawardhana - Karuna Amman alias Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan , former
body guard of Velupillai Prabhakaran , and presently Minister of the Sri
Lanka government told BBC-Radio 4’s respected reporter Andrew Hosken
that the dead terrorist leader’s down fall started with the
assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by a Tamil
Tiger suicide bomber. Referring to the assassination Karuna said
"That was a big mistake because following that, 20 countries banned
us as a terrorist organisation. Before that, many governments had been
supportive of us behind the scenes." In the interview Karuna has not
mentioned about the countries supporting the terrorist group behind the
scene. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated through a plot by Prabhakaran and
Pottuamman who died at the hands of the military few days ago and the
actual killing was done at Siriperumbudur, a suburb of the Tamil Nadu city
of Chennai. The former ideologue of the LTTE, the late Anton Balasingham
also calling it a monumental historical tragedy, regretted it but
immediately after that the LTTE officially backtracked on it. In Today’s
program Andre Hosken reported, “According to Karuna, Prabhakaran's first
serious strategic mistake came in May 1991 with the assassination of the
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. By then the Tigers' eastern military
commander, Karuna claims he had no fore knowledge of the operation but
immediately suspected Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman
because the assassination had been carried out by a suicide bomber, an
LTTE hallmark. "I told Prabhakaran that he had made a big
mistake," says Karuna. "He denied it but I knew. "That was
a big mistake because following that, 20 countries banned us as a
terrorist organisation. Before that, many governments had been supportive
of us behind the scenes." Prabhakaran killed Gandhi to punish India
for its military intervention in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s, but in the
long term, the killing would severely damage the LTTE's cause. Kruna in
the program also told Hosken that Prabhakaran never came forward and
fought face to face with the foe during a battle. That corroborates with
what happened during the final hours of Prabhakarans life. Without
fighting with the enemy or biting the cyanide capsule as he had ordered
others to do , he boarded an armor plated vehicle with ambulance markings
and fled. Prabhakaran , died when it was destroyed by rocket fire. Andrew
Hosken in the Karuna interview said, “He also grew contemptuous of
Prabhakaran. He says, "In my 22 years with Prabhakaran, he never once
came to the battlefield; he always stayed behind the lines. Everyone knows
Prabhakaran as this iron man; Prabhakaran - the very big man and the born
leader. But he was never like that." Karuna also said , during this
interview broadcast before the demise of Prabhakaran, “Prabhakaran will
never surrender to the army because he knows his crimes. Or he will be
killed by the army, and for the future peace of Sri Lanka, that would
definitely be a good thing” (EOM)

President Mahinda
Rajapaksa - instrumental in annihilating terrorism - The
following, is an extract of what Ven. Mahaelagamuwe Lankananda Thera alias
"Kuswala Veda Hamuduruwo" had to say, regarding the successful
prosecution of military campaign, against the LTTE. The Venerable priest
says Sri Lankan armed forces had successfully concluded the military
operations against the LTTE organisation, led by Prabhakaran, which was
considered to be the most ruthless, despotic and invincible terrorist
group in the world. From the time immemorial our mother Lanka was subject
to foreign invasions. During the imperial regimes, Portuguese, Dutch and
the English did their utmost to subjugate our island nation and make it a
part of their colonisation. However our patriotic ancient kings, the
Sangha and the countrymen fought valiantly against the alien forces to
protect our age-long culture civilisation and territorial integrity. At
last we were successful. We remained united and undivided (Full
report in Island).

Profile of a Terrorist - Velupillai
Prabhakaran was born in Velvettithurai on November 26, 1954. He was a
Hindu by birth. He joined the student group TIP, during the
standardization debates. In 1972, Prabhakaran founded an organization
named Tamil New Tigers (TNT) which was a successor to many initial
organizations that protested against the majority. In 1975, after being
part and parcel of the Tamil movement, he carried out his first political
murder assassinating the Mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, by shooting
him at point blank range while the Mayor was about to enter the Hindu
temple at Ponnaalai. The assassination was carried out in response to the
1974 Tamil conference incident, and the Tamil radicals blamed Alfred
Duraiappah for his links with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) as well
as for allegedly betraying the Tamil nationalist sentiments in Jaffna.
Prabhakaran studied up to G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) at Chidampara College.
Prabhakaran was also known to suffer from high blood pressure and TIA’s.
On May 5, 1976, the TNT was renamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
commonly known as Tigers. Over three decades of civil war, Prabakaran had
committed many crimes and destruction targetting leaders, Security Forces
and innocent civilians. As he created bloodshed and mayhem and untold
suffering in the country this also severely damaged the economy of the
country (Full
report in Daily News).

Tiger leadership has now
fallen into its own grave - Social Services and
Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda, issuing a Media Release has
stated that the Tiger leadership including Prabhakaran committed suicide a
long time ago and have now fallen into their own graves dug by themselves.
He adds that he wishes the defeat of the LTTE leadership to be a
liberation collectively achieved by the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim
communities of this country. The Minister pointed out that the previous
Governments when in power failed to put the Tiger leadership into their
rightful place six feet deep in the soil when they went on a killing spree
brutally murdering Tamil political leaders, members of brother
organisations and innocent Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim civilians. President
Mahinda Rajapaksa could well discern the problems of the Tamil speaking
people and those of the Tigers a part, a situation emerged where the Tiger
leadership had to sink deep into their own graves dug by themselves. At
every time an opportunity surfaced for peaceful settlement to the
political aspirations of the Tamil People, his insatiable desire for war
unceremoniously kicked out all such attempts, the Minister adds
(Full report in Daily News).

LTTE will never re-appear
as a terrorist outfit: JHU - A Jayasekera
Alleviating doubts about a possible re-grouping of LTTE terrorists, the
JHU yesterday claimed if Nazism that ruled Germany and Italy during WWll
could not raise its ugly head in the last 65 years, the LTTE would never
be able to re-appear as a terrorist outfit following its annihilation by
Sri Lankan armed forces. Addressing a news conference yesterday at the
National Library auditorium, Environment and Natural Resources Minister
Patalee Champika Ranawaka said Sri Lanka has set an example to all
countries rich and poor, weak and powerful that have been devastated by
terrorism how to overcome it and how to bring democracy, peace and
stability to people by destroying terrorism. He said: “The so called
Tamil intelligentsia are crying for a political solution to the ethnic
problem. The government is determined to bring a permanent solution to the
ethnic issue, no doubt about it. But they must keep in mind that it will
not be to the dictates of the western powers (Full
report in Daily Mirror).

CEASEFIRE….CEASEFIRE….CEASEFIRE
- By Malin Abeyatunge, Melbourne, Australia -
Last few weeks we were virtually hearing and reading daily ceasefire……..
ceasefire……..ceasefire…ceasefire….ceasefire calls from all corners
of the world when the most brutal terrorist organization LTTE aka Tamil
Tigers was facing humiliation defeat in the war against the Sri Lankan
government armed forces. The western block of countries lead by USA, UK,
France, Norway, Sweden , Germany, Switzerland, Australia started
begging the Sri Lankan Government for ceasefire….ceasefire.. ceasefire
……..with LTTE. Having experienced many ceasefires with the LTTE over
the years where they use ceasefire to consolidate and strengthen their
military power, the Sri Lankan Government did not care a bit to their
request for a ceasefire. Two days pause given by the Government on its own
during the Sinhale and Hindu new year, LTTE made use of the pause to use
the civilians to build a couple of earth bunds and ironically only less
than hundred civilians escaped from LTTE captivity during this two day
period. The countries mentioned above who were screaming and shouting for
ceasefire to save LTTE from defeat underestimated the President and his
Government and thought that GoSL would be naïve to listen to their
ceasefire scream. They are wrong. The GoSL not so naïve as they would
have liked to have thought and will not cow down to any international
pressure (Full report in SPUR).

Monday,
18 May 2009

COUNTRY BEGINGS A NEW
ERA: PEOPLE REJOICE NEW LIBERATION ALL SRI
LANKANS, irrespective of their differences have joined hands together to
mark the total eviction of Tiger Terrorism from the Sri Lankan soil in the
past 24 hours as news beamed over the media on the LTTE’s humiliating
defeat. Ground troops at this moment of writing are engaged in giving the
toughest-ever last fight to the top-rung terrorist leaders who are
fighting in the last few meters in the safe zone in PUTHUMATHALAN. Reports
said the fighting had enormously affected the morale of the Tiger
hierarchy as more and more of Tiger leader’s confidantes are fast
dwindling with deaths of Prabhakaran’s son, Charles Anthony, Pulidevan,
Nadeshan, Illango, Sundaram and Kapil Amman et al. (sri
Lanka Army).

CHARLES ANTHONY,
PULIDEVAN, NADESAN & RAMESH CONFIRMED KILLED

PRABHAKARAN’S SON
CHARLES ANTHONY, Head of LTTE Peace Secretariat S. PULIDEVAN, Head of LTTE
Political Wing and former LTTE Police Chief P. NADESAN and Head of LTTE
Special Military Wing RAMESH have been killed during Sunday’s clashes in
the final battle for liberation of the Tamil people, military intelligence
confirmed a few minutes ago (Sri
Lanka Army)

DNA tests on
body of Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader -
The body of the leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, Velupillai
Prabhakaran, is to undergo DNA and forensic tests along with the corpses
of other top rebels, officials said today. Prabhakaran was killed this
morning along with two of his deputies after a two-hour firefight when
they tried to break to freedom through advancing government troops,
defence officials said. His body was badly burnt when his armour-plated
van was hit by a rocket and burst into flames. State television broke into
its regular programming to announce Prabhakaran’s death, and the
government information department sent a text message to cell phones
across the country confirming that he was dead. The announcement prompted
mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets
of Colombo dancing and singing (Full
report in Times Online).

HE told Task Accomplished
- His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa , President
of Sri Lanka and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces has been
officially informed about the successful task accomplishment by the
country's top defence officials this evening (May 18). Secretary Defence
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Donald
Perera, Army Chief, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, Navy Chief, Vice
Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, Air Force Chief, Air Marshal Roshan
Goonathilake, Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickramarathne and
Director General of Civil Defence Force Sarath Weerasekara officially
reported to the president that the task entrusted on them to liberate the
nation from clutches of terrorism has been successfully accomplished and
the nation is free from terror. The reporting was made at a charm ceremony
held at Temple Trees. President Rajapaksa is scheduled to address the
nation from the parliament on Tuesday (May 19) at 9.30 AM (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

53 and 58 Divs uncover
over 350 LTTE bodies - Troops of 53 and 58
Divisions have uncovered over 350 bodies of LTTE terrorists killed while
conducting the search and clearing operations in general area
Vellamullaiwaikkal this evening, 18 May. Infantrymen of 53 Division have
found uncovered 181 bodies of LTTE terrorists along with a large quantity
of weapons and ammunition, latest military sources said. Over 10 Million
rupees were also found in possession of killed top LTTE leaders, military
sources added. Following are the items uncovered by the troops of 58
Division (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Archbishop congratulates
Armed forces on the conclusion of war -
Archbishop Oswald Gomis in a Press Release issued today says, "We are
indeed very happy that the war is over and I congratulate His Excellency
the President Mahinda Rajapaksha and the Chiefs of the Defense forces who
supported him with deep commitment and self-sacrifice." Full text of
the press release (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

LTTE leader killed -
The Ministry of Defence has officially declared that LTTE Velupille
Prabhakaran has been killed from an attack of the Army. Furthermore, the
Ministry says together with the LTTE leader Intelligence Leader Pottu
Amman and Sea Tiger leader Soosei have also been killed from this attack
this morning. Exclusively speaking to SLBC Army Commander Lieutenant
General Sarath Fonseka said the security forces have now united the
country by liberating all the areas that were under the LTTE control. He
also added the Army has successfully completed its task given by the
President as the Commander in Chief to liberate the country from the
terrorism (SLBC).

Effigy of
Miliband burnt…

Hundreds of
protestors began a demonstration opposite the British high commission
office in Colombo this morning. An effigy of British foreign secretary
David Miliband was set on fire and thrown into the compound.

The war against
terriorism ended victoriously - Commanders of
the three armed forces have officially informed President Mahinda
Rajapakse that the fight against terrorism has come to a victorious
conclusion. LTTE murderer Velupille Prabhakaran, who has conducted many
killings, terrorising people for nearly three decades has been killed in a
security forces attack. The Ministry of Defence says along with
Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and Soosei, who acted as the Head of Sea Tigers
were also killed in a Special Force attack. Charles Anthony, the son of
Prabhakaran was also killed in an Army attack. Nadeshan, Pulidevan, Ramesh,
Ilango, Sundaram and Kapil Amman were the other tiger leaders killed (BBC).

Seven top leaders of the
LTTE killed in the Army attacks - Seven Senior
LTTE leaders have been killed in attacks of the security forces. They have
been identified as Charles Anthony, Nadeshan, Pulidevan, Ramesh, Kapil
Amman, Ilango and Sundaram. Troops found their bodies early this morning
in Karayamulla-vaikkal. The body of Nadeshan’s wife was also found by
the troops. Charles Anthony, the eldest son of the LTTE chief Velupille
Prabhakaran was the leader of the LTTE’s Information and Technical Wing.
Nadeshan was the so called political wing leader of the outfit and Ramesh
was one of the top military leaders of the LTTE. Pulidevan acted as the
Chief of LTTE’s Peace Secretariat. Kapil Amman was the Deputy
Intelligence leader of the LTTE (BBC).

Mop-up operations
continue: Kapil Amman, Ilango also among dead -
Sri Lankan security forces continuing mop-up operations at the 100m x 100m
remaining land patch, North of Vellamullivaikkal have uncovered three more
bodies of key LTTE leaders, this morning (May 18). According to latest
battlefield reports received, the 53 and 58 Division troops including
Special Forces and Commandos have uncovered the bodies, suspected to be of
Ilango (LTTE 'Police' wing chief), Sudarman (Charles Anthony's close aid)
and Kapil Amman( LTTE intelligence wing). The bodies were found abandoned
in the area, the sources further said. Troops also confirmed many more
terrorist bodies lying scattered in the area which are yet to be
identified. More information will follow... (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Army foils LTTE's last
attempt to evacuate its leaders; bodies being identified
-Sri Lankan army elites and infantrymen of 53, 58 and 59 Divisions have
foiled the LTTE's last attempt to evacuate its top leaders this morning
(May 18). According to the latest battlefield reports, soldiers have
located over 150 bodies of LTTE cadres so far. The process of identifying
the terrorist bodies is in progress. With this attack LTTE has lost all
its key positions and its remnants are now limited to tiny pockets
scattered in the Karayamullavaikkal area, the sources said. All army units
are now engaged in the final mop up operations. LTTE terrorists made their
final bid to evacuate its leaders early this morning as army elites
pierced in to the last remaining LTTE foothold last night. The terrorist
have managed took hold of two vehicles and believed to have put their
senior leaders into those vehicles before they started moving northwards.
According to the available information army elites and 53 Division
soldiers have intercepted and crushed the terrorist move after fierce
fighting. Troops have so far identified bodies of Charles Anthony, the
eldest son of LTTE chief V.Prabhakaran , B. Nadesan, LTTE's political
head, S. Pulidevan , LTTE's head of peace secretariat, S. Ramesh, A
special military leader, Kapil Amman, LTTE's deputy intelligence leader,
Sudarman , the aide to Prabhakarn's son, Rathnam Master , a black tiger
leader and Ilango, another senior LTTE leader. More information will
follow... (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Acid attack link to
Tamils - Chathurika and Jayasri knew the
attackers were Tamils because they were screaming in Tamil during the
rampage, he said. Relatives of Jayasri had been told by doctors this
morning that the young student was likely to lose his eyesight as a result
of the acid attack, the friend said. A third occupant of the house escaped
injury by hiding during the attack. The friend said he was still trying to
contact him at midday. A neighbour said he heard screaming from the house
and was about to call police, but they arrived before he had a chance to
phone.called them," said the man, who did not wish to be named.
"I was asleep, and I heard the noises and "Someone else must
have heard it too and got up and went to my kitchen window. I saw one of
the guys going back and forth ... but I didn't [see who did it]." The
trail of destruction left by the attackers was still visible this morning,
with blood splattered on walls and on the floor, bloodied handprints on
light switches and door handles and debris scattered throughout the house.
Glass sliding doors at the front of the house had been smashed. In the
lounge room, a glass coffee table and TV were smashed, and a fridge and
microwave had been thrown on the floor. The victim's friend said the
attack had followed clashes between Sinhalese and Tamils in Sydney's west
yesterday afternoon, after the Tamil Tigers' admission of defeat in Sri
Lanka in their long-running battle with the Government. Groups of
Sinhalese had celebrated at parks yesterday, but the victims had not been
present, the friend said. "They didn't come to the celebration; they
were working, that's why we were wondering [why they were attacked].
"But this house has always been famous for Sri Lankans ... they are
always having parties and stuff, so they know [there are Sinhalese
here]." The Sinhalese community was now petrified, he said.
"Everyone's worried, every single person is worried. You don't know
how many calls I'm getting about this." (Full
report in AGE).

Foreign Correspondent -
By: Gomin Dayasri - It's a stopover in paradise for a Foreign
Correspondent to live majestically on his overseas allowance. Such
comfortable digs are not in the market in the recession stung home
country. There is exotic food and groovy watering holes at affordable
prices. NGOs' provide the freebies and rolls the red carpet. Evenings may
be dull but there is fun around-sun and surf, safaris and misty mountains
within easy reach. Surroundings are ideal to prop a savings account for a
rainy day. It's an earn to save assignment; where on most days the drink
and dinner is free with invitations galore. Many sophisticated hostesses
desire to declare that they call the local BBC /CNN man by the first name.
They pass unquoted quotes, to display their importance. It's a comfortable
station to report a war with no hazard to life or limb-the possible menace
being the cancellation of the visa and a deportation order. Foreign
correspondents live in Iraq or Afghanistan, Sudan or Somalia with death
beckoning. English is understood by those who matter and the girls in the
NGO circuit provide the information and entertainment. News is at the door
step with LTTE agents in attendance. Cultivation of news sources is not a
requirement as there is a free flow (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

All civilians freed
- Over 82,000 civilians sought refuge in Forces since May 14 - The old,
maimed and the wounded were last to come - The
humanitarian mission launched to liberate civilians taken hostage by the
LTTE for months reached an end last afternoon in Mullaitivu with the last
batch of civilians arriving in Government controlled areas through the
Vadduvakkal causeway towards Mullaitivu by 2.30 p.m yesterday whilst
troops surrounded the last batch of Tiger cadres inside a less than half
square kilometre stretch in the No Fire Zone. The last batch of civilians,
included the old, maimed and wounded. Many of them without any helping
hand were seen creeping and crawling across the Vadduvakkal causeway while
many disabled and wounded on clutches and wheelchairs made their last bid
effort to join thousands of the other civilians fleeing from the Safe Zone
at the last minute. These civilians were screened by the troops as they
crossed the Vadduvakkal causeway whilst hundreds of Tiger cadres declared
their identities to the Security Forces. According to Military officials
more than 52,000 civilians have arrived in the Government controlled areas
and nearly 30,000 were due to be screened by the troops before being
dispatched to welfare centres in Vavuniya. The troops were seen extending
a helping hand to the needy and wounded and innocent children by providing
water and fresh meals as they arrived in military controlled areas (Full
report in Daily News).

Lanka accuses UN, news
agencies of collaborating with LTTE - Foreign
Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona yesterday dismissed the threat of hauling the
Sri Lankan political and military leadership before an international war
crimes tribunal as a cynical exercise. Addressing a press conference at
the Met Department auditorium, Kohona said that like any other state Sri
Lanka had a legal responsibility to rescue hostages held by terrorists.
The Sri Lankan government couldn’t be held accountable for taking
measures to liberate civilians held at gunpoint by the LTTE. He was
responding to a recent statement attributed to British Foreign Office
Minister Bill Rammell that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration
could face a war crimes probe. In a Commons debate, Rammell said that the
UK backed an early inquiry into shelling by the Sri Lankan army. He said
that as a sovereign nation, Sri Lanka was legally obliged to respond to
the LTTE threat. He pointed out the absurdity in allowing LTTE activists
to disrupt normal life in western capitals (Full
report in Island).

Situation in Sri Lanka -
A Letter forwarded to David Miliband - By Lt Col
(Retd) Anil Amarasekera Dear Mr David Miliband, A lie repeated many
times over they say is sometimes accepted as the truth. Therefore by
repeating lies many times over the Tamil Diaspora was able to fool
virtually the whole of the international community for some time, they
still continue to fool some in the international community all the time
but they have failed to fool the whole of the international community all
the time, because the truth is finally being exposed and is indeed
even stranger than fiction. The propaganda of the Tamil Diaspora
with regard to discrimination and even genocide is far from the truth. The
Tamils are in fact a minority that enjoys more privileges in Sri
Lanka than minorities living in any other country. The
Tamil population is over 118 million in the world of today, yet they have
no sovereign country of their own to justly call their homeland. The
largest concentration of a Tamil population is found in the Indian state
of Tamil Nadu, which is the home for over 65 million Tamil people. It is
in Tamil Nadu that the Tamil civilization and culture evolved. However
unfortunately Tamil Nadu is only another state in the Indian configuration
and not an independent sovereign state. Over forty years ago the Tamils in
Tamil Nadu agitated to break away from the Indian configuration and to
form an independent sovereign state of their own. However the Indian
central government crushed this rebellion and took necessary steps by
amending the Indian constitution to prevent such divisive forces from
becoming active in India. What the Tamils failed to achieve in India they
next tried to establish in Sri Lanka by dividing this country and creating
a separate state of Eelam (Read
full letter in SPUR).

An
invitation to the Sri Lankan Diaspora & the Migrant Working Community
to invest in Government Treasury Bills / Treasury Bonds

Government
of Sri Lanka has opened an investment opportunity in Treasury
Bills/Treasury Bonds to Sri Lankan diaspora and migrant workforce.

We
are proud to inform that the Bank of Ceylon, No 1 Bank in Sri Lanka, has
been appointed as a Lead Manager in this new investment drive by the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). We invite all Sri Lankan diaspora
and migrant workforce to open Treasury Bill / Bond Investment External
Rupee Account – Deshabhimani (TIERA-D ) with Bank of Ceylon to
facilitate your investment in Government securities.

Towards a new Sri Lanka -
The war is over in all but name. The LTTE's
giant killing machine has been destroyed and the fate of Prabhakaran and
other key terrorists will be known before long. It may not be hyperbolic
that little Lanka's victory over terrorism is not second to the near
impossible rare feats of humankind like man's landing on the moon. Her war
had the trappings of a David-Goliath contest with all the western powers,
save a few, unabashedly siding with a savage terrorist outfit they
themselves had outlawed on their soil. Even the UN handled Sri Lanka's war
as if the LTTE were a member state! It is a miracle that Sri Lanka managed
to crush terrorism. President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government must be
commended for courageously withstanding tremendous pressure even from the
likes of US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
and prosecuting the war with a single minded will to succeed; and the
armed forces, their commanders, the police, the IGP and, most of all,
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa deserve high praise for steering the
war to a successful conclusion (Full
Editorial in Island).

Troops foil Tiger’s
final attempt - Troops operating in the western
edge of the Nanthikadal lagoon yesterday foiled what was described by the
troops as the final attempt by the LTTE to escape towards the jungles in
Mullaitivu and Puthukudiyiruppu South killing more than 80 Tiger cadres
who tried to breach the Security Forces’ defences in the early hours of
yesterday. “More than 80 well trained Tiger cadres were killed and their
bodies were recovered collected from the Nanthikadal lagoon as troops
foiled the Tigers’ attempt to breach the Security Forces defence around
2.30 am yesterday,” military officials in Mullaitivu told the Daily
News. The attempt to breach the Security Forces’ defences came after
launching four Tiger boats into the Nanthikadal lagoon from the Safe Zone
whilst hundreds of other cadres crossed the lagoon to reach the Western
edge of the lagoon. Troops attached to the 19 Sri Lanka Light Infantry
Regiment under the command of the 5 Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment took the
brunt of the attack killing scores of Tiger cadres and destroying boats
heading towards the Security Forces’ defences. The 5 VIR battalion under
the command of Lt. Colonel Kalpa Sanjeewa collected 40 Tiger bodies
including that of nine female Tiger cadres whilst 19 SLLI battalion under
the command of Lt. Colonel Ravindra Perera collected more than 30 bodies
of Tiger cadres. Acting Brigade Commander of the 592 Brigade Lt. Colonel
Senaka Wijesuriya and 682 Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel Subashana Welikala
commanded the infantry troops to foil this attempt by the LTTE. According
to intelligence sources, Tiger leader Soosai and Jeyam had briefed the
Tiger cadres before they launched the attack and their aim was to open a
path towards the Mullaitivu jungles for their leaders to escape from the
safe zone. “If they succeeded in their bid they would have escaped to
the jungle patches in Mullaitivu once troops advanced into the last
terrain of the LTTE,” military officials added (Daily
News).

End
of War Celebrations in Sri Lanka

The whole country
was seen in a jubilant mood today as the government announced the end of
the LTTE was at hand with the remaining civilians trapped in the north
being rescued today. Pictures by Dinuka liyanawatthe

Two LTTE armoured
vehicles and 3 AAGs captured - Three LTTE Anti
Aircraft Guns (AAG), two of them with two barrels and two Armoured Tanks (BMT)
were recovered by troops in Puthumattalan in Mulaitivu yesterday morning.
Those three AAGs, popularly known as pedal guns or ZPUs are capable of
firing a maximum of around 600 rounds per minute and need to be kept on a
four-wheel carriage for firing. They also can cover a range of about 8,000
meters and are about 5-7 ft in height. The BMT Armoured Tank, capable of
high fire-power and ability to sustain enemy fire is fitted with
anti-bullet and anti-splinter armour protection. Tiger terrorists had used
these Armoured Tanks to carry out devastating attacks on the troops in the
past three years, army sources said (Island).

Torture chamber
supervised by Prabhakaran found - One More
heavily-fortified LTTE torture-chamber cum prison complex, run inside a
three-room house behind the Mullaivaikkal (Vellamullavaikkal) sub-post
office, was among the latest finds made by heroic 58 Division troops on
Saturday as they moved further in. Barbarism of ruthless Tiger terrorism,
that has meted out inhuman punishments to all those who opposed to Tigers
or defied LTTE directives was once again proved with the tracing of this
“concentration” camp or the torture chamber where the Tiger leadership
has reportedly detained all those who blamed him or criticized Tiger
hierarchy. The house with a wide sitting room, plus three spacious rooms
has been protected closely by bunkers on the orders of LTTE leader
Prabhakaran, according to information given to the troops by escapees. All
anti-LTTE men and women had been kept imprisoned and tightly tethered to
heavy metal chains, generally used for elephants. (see photos) Those metal
prison cages of about 10-12 ft in height have been designed for
padlocking, and another portion of the chamber appeared to have been used
for beating and torturing (Full
report in Daily News).

SOLHEIM, THE MAN WHO LOST
HIS STATUS AS MEDIATOR TELLS LTTE WANTS TO HAND OVER WEAPONS TO A THIRD
PARTY - By Walter Jayawardhana - Sri Lanka’s
former peace negotiator Norway, a country which has been removed by Sri
Lanka from that position after the LTTE in Oslo attacked the Lankan
mission without any protection being provided by the Norwegian government
said the LTTE wants to surrender arms to a third country. But the
involvement of a third country has been already refused by Sri Lanka. The
LTTE on a former occasion agreed to surrender arms , cheated , and
surrendered some broken arms under the Indo Lanka agreement and went back
to re-grouping and war that climaxed in the assassination of former Indian
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Norway’s peace negotiator Eric Solheim said
that he was in touch with the LTTE and discussed about the matter. "I
have been in touch with the Tamil Tigers many times today," Norway's
Development Aid Minister Erik Solheim told Reuters. "They have made
it clear to us that they are ready to give up arms to the international
community." The LTTE has been repeatedly telling that it was not
ready to surrender arms but has now said it is ready to hand them over to
the international community. According to state owned ITN correspondents
remain in the battle field the troops are only fighting sporadic fights in
a one square kilometre area to wipe out small number of LTTE fighters
remaining. Solheim expressed his desire for “independent verification”
of the wounded in his statement.

Why LTTE failed -
Sri Lanka’s Security Forces appear to have redeemed their professional
reputation with their resounding success in the fourth edition of the
Eelam War, which has been going on since 2006 against the LTTE, popularly
known as the Tigers. They were not able to achieve decisive results
against the LTTE in their three earlier outings. President Mahinda
RajapaksaThe United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had rated
the Tigers as “among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the
world”. The FBI said the LTTE’s “ruthless tactics have inspired
terrorist networks worldwide, including Al Qaeda in Iraq”. So, the
Security Forces’ success against the LTTE should not be underestimated,
particularly when similar wars against insurgents and terrorists in other
countries, including Afghanistan, have been dragging on (Full
report in Daily News).

When Tigers are caged - The
past few weeks have seen four major public demonstrations in Ontario by
Tamil-Canadians demanding that the federal Government do something to stop
what they describe as a genocide against their people by the Government in
Sri Lanka. Three of those demonstrations were legal. The first was a
sit-in on Parliament Hill in Ottawa that lasted more than two weeks and
did not attract much attention, even from the Tamils’ usual political
patrons in the Liberal party. It was only after the demonstrators folded
up the flags representing the terrorist organization the LTTE that
politicians would even acknowledge them the Tigers, although a banned
organization, are believed to have a large presence in the Canadian Tamil
community. Two other peaceful protests one that saw demonstrators block a
downtown Toronto street and another in Queen’s Park, outside the Ontario
legislature, also failed to move governments or opposition parties,
provincial or federal, to give into Tamil demands to intercede on behalf
of the estimated 50,000 civilians who are trapped in the Tigers’ last
redoubt in Sri Lanka. The Tigers are soon destined to fall to Government
Forces unless ill-advised international voices can intimidate the
Government from finally wiping out the pox that the LTTE has become on the
face of humanity. In a world that has no shortage of ruthless terrorist
organizations, the LTTE is without peer for violence. In fact, the 50,000
Tamil civilians at risk in Sri Lanka today are at risk only because the
Tigers are holding them as hostages and human shields to stay the hand of
Government Forces (Full
report in Daily News).

The great rescue mission
- The last surge of civilians have now arrived,
fleeing from their liberators turned captors, into the cleared areas,
snowballing the figures to around 250,000 displaced. These civilians were
liberated by the security forces ending one of the longest and bloodiest
hostage dramas in known memory. TV footage showed these hapless people
arriving in the Government controlled areas, a majority of them in various
forms of degradation and mutilation, the result of LTTE firing at those
fleeing. All civilians though in a state of anguish praised the Security
Forces for rescuing them. This episode speaks eloquently to the world as
to who the true liberators are. But what one cannot fathom is why even at
the last stages of the hostage drama were the Western Governments calling
for a Ceasefire from the Government. There had been strident calls by
Britain, the US and the EU calling on the Government to go for a ceasefire
to allow the civilians to go while leaving out the LTTE in the bargain.
Wasn’t it evident to them that the initial rescue operation was carried
out with no Ceasefire on the side of the LTTE. Isn’t this call for
another ceasefire from the Government an attempt to revive a dying outfit
to serve the ulterior motives of these Western powers (Full
Editorial in Daily News).

Sacrifices not in vain -
Dr. Kohona - Sri Lanka has after 26 year of struggle defeated one of the
most brutal terrorist organisations in the world. It was not an easy task
and many thousands of lives had to be sacrificed to achieve this, Foreign
Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona told the Daily News yesterday. "Today we
have enormous challenges before us to ensure that these sacrifices were
not in vain. We must grab this opportunity to rebuild our country, to
restore confidence and re-integrate all members of our community," he
said. "This will include rehabilitating and re-integrating combatants
who for various reasons participated in pro-LTTE activities. Forgiveness
must be a key word in our approach consistent with the most valued
traditions of our culture," Dr. Kohona said. "The Government is
totally committed to ensuring that a sustainable peace is achieved. We
hope that the international community and international organisations will
contribute pro-actively to realising our dream. At this point, we hope
that the international community would appreciate the enormity of our
achievement which was substantially our own. I also take this opportunity
to express our gratitude to our friends who stood by us faithfully during
this dark period of our history." (Full
report in Daily News).

LTTE AAGs and tanks
recovered in final battle - Three LTTE Anti
Aircraft Guns (AAG), two of them with two barrels and two armoured tanks
were among the latest items recovered by troops now in full control of
almost all areas in Puthumattalan, Mullaitivu, the army said. The three
AAGs, popularly known as peddle guns, are capable of firing a maximum of
around 600 rounds per minute and need to be kept on a four-wheel carriage
for firing. They can cover a range of about 8000 meters and are about 5-7
ft in height. They were recovered on Sunday (17) morning. The BMT armoured
tank, is fitted with anti-bullet and anti-splinter protection. Tiger
terrorists have used these tanks to carry out devastating attacks on the
troops in the past three years (Daily
Mirror).

Indian voters reject:
Political parties aiding terrorism - The people
of India through the recently concluded general election has rejected the
political parties that was involved in aiding and abetting separatism and
terrorism. The Indians have endorsed the central Government's policy on
Sri Lanka. The Indian National Congress has been given a free hand to take
decisions without the support from extremist and opportunistic political
elements when it comes to the problems of national and regional
importance. The Congress led UPA were able to secure 259 out of 543 seats
after 25 years at the recently concluded general election while the main
Opposition Bharathiya Janatha Party gained only 116 seats. This a
remarkable achievement in the history of India as the Congress led
alliance fell short of only 15 seats to achieve the majority in
Parliament. The leaders in Tamil Nadu threatened the centre to force the
Government of Sri Lanka to stop the mission to free innocent civilians
from the clutches of terrorists. Certain political parties launched
massive campaigns in support of the LTTE while others were trying to rock
the Indian Government by threating to resign from the coalition. The main
political parties that openly supported the LTTE in Tamil Nadu have
suffered a humiliating defeat. The people of Tamil Nadu rejected the
political parties varying their policies to gain narrow and petty
political gains (Full
report in Daily News).

Defeat of terrorism
greatest achievement by nation - Construction
and Engineering Services Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratne yesterday said the
victory achieved by our valiant soldiers in the North is one of the
greatest victories achieved by the nation. Under the great leadership
given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the terrorism which ruined the
country during the past three decades has come to an end. Minister
Senaratne said today the country has reached a very decisive juncture. We
have been able to save the country from the clutches of terrorism due to
joint efforts by the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the
Commanders of three Armed Forces on the directives given by President
Rajapaksa (Full
report in Daily News).

Masses welcome defeat of
terrorism - People interviewed by the Daily News
on the achievement of victory over the terrorists in the North brought us
many views and comments yesterday. All these people were civilians who had
felt and experienced the horrors and fears of the terrorist threat to the
country. Excerpts of their comments: (Full
report in Daily News).

Soosai’s wife planned
to reach UK through India - Sea Tiger leader
Soosai wife Satyadevi and her children had planned to reach India and then
make arrange’s to reach the UK. Well informed sources said that
Satyadevi, a former member of the Sea Tigers felt that she could live with
her brother living in the UK. Under interrogation, she had claimed that
Soosai had briefed an LTTE cadre tasked with taking her to India but she
wasn’t aware of the instructions. An official told The Island that
Satyadevi’s route was similar to the one taken by the then JVP politburo
member Somawansa Amarasinghe to escape security forces hunting for members
of the proscribed organisation in the late 80s. The navy arrested
Satyadevi and ten others 2.5 nautical miles from land in the early hours
of Friday (May 15). The boat carrying Soosai’s wife had been launched at
about 2. 30 a.m. from a point close to the Jordanian ship Farah III which
had run aground near Karayamullivaikkal in December 2006. The navy had
allowed the boat, initially believed to be a suicide craft, to take a
north easterly direction before firing two shots to force it to halt. The
boat, powered by one 15 horse power OBM had been operated by an
experienced LTTE cadre. Although the navy didn’t immediately identify
Soosai wife, the officers at the scene had recognized that they were
different from the ordinary civilians. Following initial checking, the
group had been taken onboard a trawler and transferred to Chalai where the
identification was made (Full
report in Island).

Kandy celebrates end of
terrorism - There was wide rejoicing by the
people of Kandy yesterday when the news spread that the Security Forces
had freed all the civilians and they were on the verge of capturing
completely the areas held by the LTTE. The Kandy town was littered with
pieces of paper as there was large scale lighting of crackers which lasted
for more than three hours. One such place was the landmark of Kandy - the
clock tower roundabout in the heart of Kandy town. There was such a demand
for fire crackers that some of the shops ran short crackers as yesterday
being a Sunday some of the shops were closed. People danced in the streets
and praised the President and the Security Forces for the steps taken to
liberate that part of the country from the terrorists and free the other
parts of the country from fear and terror of the terrorists and bombers
who targeted innocent and unsuspecting civilians. People also hoisted the
National Flag in their homes. Even the streets were also full of National
Flags. There were also parading of the streets in motor cycles and
three-wheelers carrying the National Flags underlying the fact that the
sovereignty of the Unitary State has been preserved (Full
report in Daily News).

Trapped in less than 1
sq. km, Tigers hope for a miracle - Tigers lose 100 in last offensive -
All hostages rescued - The army yesterday
crushed the LTTE’s last offensive action launched on the Mullaitivu
front at 1. 30 a.m. killing about 100 cadres. Among the dead were several
senior cadres. Major General Kamal Gunarathne yesterday said that the army
had repulsed the lagoon borne assault successfully. The LTTE had deployed
several fast attack craft to reach the army line and the battle had lasted
for about two hours. Gunarathne, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of
the 53 Division said that his troops and the 59 Division deployed on one
of his flanks had caused heavy losses to the LTTE. Speaking to The Island
yesterday morning, he said that the army could clear the remaining area
within the day. Responding to our queries, he said that both LTTE
intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman and Sea Tiger leader Soosai had been
monitored on Saturday night. Earlier in the day, the army, he said, had
killed Swarnam and Sashikumar Master during a confrontation in the
Vellamullivaikkal area. The 53, 58 and 59 Divisions had been involved in
the final battle to clear less than one sq. km area where a couple of
hundred LTTE cadres had taken refuge (Full
report in Island).

Ranil’s visit to Europe
a tamasha - ex envoy - The Opposition Leader’s
visit to Europe at this juncture is uncalled for and irrelevant as the
country is saddled with the responsibility of looking after an
unprecedented number of 200,000 IDPs needing the cooperation from all the
parties,” journalist, media consultant and former Deputy High
Commissioner for India S. Piyasena told the Daily News on Friday. If the
Opposition Leader had to discuss the present problem with other countries,
he could have done in Colombo just as he took up the problem of the North
with Norwegian Minister/peace envoy Erick Solheim and other foreign
representatives in 2002,” he said. The current humanitarian operation
involving around 200,000 IDPs is one of the biggest challenges in recent
history comparable to the exodus of four million people to Bangladesh in
1971 equal in proportion to the population of Sri Lanka when compared as
equal of four million people of India in proportion to India’s
population. However the Opposition Leader’s visit at this time could be
compared only to a tamasha, he said. All visiting VIPs meet President
Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe could have discussed the matter in Colombo when he met
them, Piyasena said (Full
report in Daily News).

When is genocide not
genocide? by C. Wijeyawickrema - "The
question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean
different things." "The question is, said Humpty Dumpty,
"which is to be master—that’s all." A crime without a name:
In August 1941, Winston Churchill delivered a speech on the BBC saying
that the Nazi armies were advancing exterminating whole districts in
Europe. He thundered, as quoted in the book, A Problem from hell: America
and the age of genocide by Samantha Power (2003), "We are in the
presence of a crime without a name." Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew and
international lawyer who lost all his relatives during the Nazi war
decided to find a name for the crime and he coined term
"genocide." Lemkin would not have expected what was in store for
his labour. Recently, white politicians and corrupt NGO agents exploited
the word as a cover for selfish purposes. Even private individuals joined
in the game. For example, the American lawyer Bruce Fein uses the word
genocide frequently because allegedly, he gets $30,000 per month from the
owners of the Tamils against genocide website. Arundhati Roy fears of an
impending genocide in the No Fire Zone in Sri Lanka. She has had a
journalist’s crush on her hero Prabhakaran (ref. The Island, 4/28/2009,
essay by Kalana Senaratne) (Full
article in Island).

We have proved IC wrong,
says Ven. Wimalaratne - President Mahinda
Rajapaksa yesterday arrived at the BIA from Jordan to a rousing welcome.
After being garlanded by SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena, a
smiling President received the blessings of the clergy. Ven. Bellanwila
Wimalarathana thero said that the armed forces had made huge sacrifices to
make the President’s dream of uniting the country come true. He said
that the Sri Lankan forces had proved that terrorism could be defeated
militarily. He criticised a section of the international community for
obstructing the Sri Lankan efforts against the LTTE while propagating the
need to fight terrorism. The thero said that the President now faced a
daunting task. He emphasised the importance of shedding all political
differences to provide for Tamil civilians accommodated in welfare
centres. He said that the President had the strength to usher in peace and
prosperity (Full
report in Island).

The Sri Lankan
president His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa returned from Jordan descending
from the plane, kneeling and worshiping the soil of Mother Lanka at the
Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. He was greeted with
lighting of crackers in celebration and hoisting of the national flag
throughout the island.

Army elites spearhead the
final assault; Sri Lanka awaits total liberation from terror Sri Lanka
- Army elites have entered into the final foothold of the LTTE terrorists
that has been shrunk to a 350m x 250m area on the northeastern coast,
reveal latest battlefield reports. Troops are now engaged in mop
operations in a heavily mined and trapped stretch of a land where the
remaining terrorists are hiding in, the reports add. Sri Lankan soldiers
on Sunday (May 17) completed their hostage rescue mission successfully
with the freeing of all civilians held at hostage by the terrorists.
Despite the speculations of a "bloodbath" and a
"humanitarian catastrophe" at the final military push, Sri
Lankan soldiers were able rescue about 70,000 people with in the last 72
hours without causing any harm to the innocent. Defence observers
articulate the achievement of the Sri Lankan soldiers as another display
of true professionalism. A senior defence observer speaking to defence.lk
said that the soldiers have once again given lie to the weird predictions
and commentaries of certain ignorant officials of various humanitarian
organizations (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

Sri Lanka must understand consequences for its
actions: Brown - British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown has warned the Sri lankan government of"consequences for its
actions"even as President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced victory over
the LTTE. "We are backing UN efforts to secure an orderly end to the
conflict. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam must lay down its arms and
allow civilians to leave. The Sri Lanka must understand that there will be
consequences for its actions," Brown said. However, the British
Premier did not elaborate what the consequences would be. Brown made
several calls to President Mahindra Rajapaksa, who was on a visit to
Jordan, to voice his concerns over the conflict and the tens of thousands
of civilians caught in the crossfire. In a statement, he said,"We
have called repeatedly for the violence to cease. The humanitarian
agencies must be granted access to civilians caught in the crossfire of a
dreadful conflict." (Full
report in Indopia).

LTTE leader Prabhakaran
reported dead as Tamil Tigers surrender -
Surrounded on all sides by the Sri Lankan Army, the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers as they are more commonly termed, have
announced their surrender amidst news their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran,
is dead. The final round in what has been a long and drawn out campaign by
the militant group for an independent Tamil state in the north and east of
Sri Lanka came as news surfaced that the Sri Lankan military has recovered
more than 150 bodies from the last remaining LTTE stonghold. According to
reports on CNN-IBN, the body of what is believed to be the 54-year-old
LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, along with about 150 others were
found when government troops stormed the final LTTE stronghold in the
Mullivaaikkaal area of Karaithuraipatru AGA division of Mullaitheevu
district. In a statement posted on the TamilNet website, the LTTE said its
decades long struggle for a Tamil homeland, “has reached its bitter end.”
Sri Lankan military sources claim to have intercepted radio transmission
in which the LTTE “Thalaivar” (leader) and “poraligal” (fighters)
discussed “Veeramaranam” (heroic death) in accordance with their past
practice of committing suicide. The Sri Lankan government said the bodies
of those found in the LTTE base were being taken to an army camp in
Colombo where a post-mortem will be conducted to confirm the identities of
the bodies (Theindian
News).

Prabhakaran body recovered? -
Latest report emerging from the war zone reveals that Prabhakaran’s body
has been recovered and it has been flown to an Army camp in Colombo for
DNA testing and to confirm it medically. At the time of filing this report
it is learnt that Sri Lankan Army has so far recovered more than 35 dead
bodies of the Tigers and they continue to collect more bodies. It is
learnt that except for Dwaraka, the only daughter of Prabhakaran who is
away somewhere in Dublin for her higher studies, said to be holding a
Swedish Nationality Passport, all the other members of the family -
Prabhakaran (father), Charles Anthony (son), Balachandran (son) and
Mathivathani(wife) have deceased according to an unconfirmed report
emerging from an army source, who wanted to remain anonymous. In the
meantime, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa who arrived early this
morning and received a heroic welcome at the international airport at
Katunayake, will not be delivering an address to the nation as earlier
planned. According to a source in the Presidential Secretariat, it is now
learnt that he will be filing a report .in the Sri Lanka Parliament on
Tuesday 19 May, regarding victory over the Tamil Tigers and the end of the
three decade old scourge of terrorism in the country (Asian
Tribune).

Sri Lankan President to
address the nation on Tuesday - Sri Lankan
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will ceremoniously address the nation from
parliament on Tuesday, May 19 at 9.30 am on the military victory over the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), says the Government Information
Department (Ada Derana).

Velupillai Prabhakaran
dead? - Prabhakaran, the founder and leader of
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) might be dead, according to a
CNN-IBN report. The news channel quoted sources as saying that the
reclusive rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top deputies may
have died in an attack early this morning or committed mass suicide. The
body of rebel leader is taken to Sri Lankan army base in Panagoda for
confirmation, as per the news channel’s claim (Full
report in Express Buzz).

Tiger leaders and other terrorists have been cornered
into an area less than 800 square meters - The
Army Headquarters say the tiger terrorists are now being cornered in to an
area of less t than 800 square meters. Terrorists continue to stage
suicide attacks to prevent the advance of security forces divisions. The
headquarters point out that the troops are moving forward despite such
attacks to destroy the trapped terrorists leaders. Three major divisions
and a special task force are carrying out the operations. The army
intelligence divisions have established that senior tiger leaders
including the tiger leader, Pottu Amman, Soosai, Banu and Jeyam are in
this area. The army says their fate will be decided within the next few
hours. There is no room for them to escape by any means (SLBC).

Lankan army claims
Prabhakaran dead - Liberation Tiger of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) chief V Prabhakaran could be dead with Sri Lankan army
sources telling CNN-IBN that his body has been recovered and is being
taken to an army camp in Colombo. Sri Lankan army sources say they have
recovered 150 bodies of LTTE cadres but the bodies are still being
identified. According to reports all civilians held hostage by the LTTE
have now been freed from the battle zone. The report comes even as the
Lankan government announced it had captured the final stronghold of the
LTTE, and that the top LTTE leadership may have committed mass suicide.
"I am proud to announce... that my government with the total
commitment of our armed forces, has in an unprecedented humanitarian
operation, finally defeated the LTTE militarily," said Sri Lankan
President Mahinda Rajapaksa (IBN).

LTTE decides to end its
bloody armed struggle - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger
guerrillas announced Sunday that they had decided to "silence"
their guns amid intense rumours that their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran
was dead. In a statement posted on the TamilNet website, the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said its decades long struggle for a Tamil
homeland "has reached its bitter end". "This battle has
reached its bitter end... We have decided to silence our guns," said
the LTTE statement issued by S. Pathmanathan, the head of the group's
International Relations department. "Our only regrets are for the
lives lost and that we could not hold out for longer," it said, a day
after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced a defeat of the
LTTE. There was no word, however, on the fate of Prabhakaran amid reports
that Sri Lankan troops had stumbled upon the bodies of about 150 LTTE
guerrillas in the island's north (Samaylive).

Tamil Tigers 'Silence
Their Guns' - The Tamil Tigers have given up
their fight against the Sri Lankan army, according to a statement carried
by the pro-rebel Tamilnet website. "This battle has reached its
bitter end," said the statement from the rebels' chief of
international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan. "We remain with one
last choice - to remove the last weak excuse of the enemy for killing our
people. "We have decided to silence our guns. Our only regrets are
for the lives lost and that we could not hold out for longer."
Earlier, Sri Lankan troops said they had rescued all civilians held by the
Tamil Tiger rebels. "More than 50,000 people have come out of that
area in the past three days and with that we have rescued all the
civilians held as a human shield by the Tigers," military spokesman
Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said. However, he added that the Tigers still
controlled a "small patch of jungle" and that government forces
were still fighting with pockets of rebel resistance (Full
report in Sky News).

ARMY SOLDIERS &
SAILORS IN LTTE CAPTIVITY RESCUED - MULLAITTIVU: ADDING
ONE more significant dimension to the final knockout blow against Tiger
terrorists, Army troops this morning (17) tactfully scurried past a pocket
of remaining Tigers in one corner of VELLAMULIVAIKKAL area, and rescued
seven valiant service personnel who had been held in LTTE captivity for a
long time. Three Army soldiers and four Navy personnel, detained and
inhumanly treated by Tigers received a surprising shock when the Army
troops swooped on the LTTE detention house and rescued them before they
were butchered. Lance Corporal THENNAKOON of 1st Vijayaba Regiment (VIR),
Lance Corporal WEERASINGHA of 4th Gemunu Watch (GW) and Private RANASINGHE
of 6th Sinha Regiment (SR) of Sri Lanka Army and Leading Mechanical
Engineer (LME), P.K.I. PITIYAKUMBURA, Leading Seaman (S/L) G.H.C.K.HEWAGE,
Able Body Seaman (A/B) K.M.K.H.KUMARASIRI and Recruit
M.G.A.P.BAMBARADENIYA of Sri Lanka Navy finally saw their emancipation
following the Army’s rescue operation. Sailors P.K.I. PITIYAKUMBURA,
G.H.C.K.HEWAGE, K.M.K.H.KUMARASIRI, and M.G.A.P.BAMBARADENIYA had fallen
into LTTE hands after Sea Tigers rammed two Navy Dvoras ( P-461 &
P-416) serving POINT PEDRO seas on 9th November 2006. Observations later
said Tiger terrorists had captured those sailors alive and reportedly
taken away but no confirmed reports reached the authorities. One of the
rescued Army soldiers has been captured alive by terrorists in MUHAMALAI
following clashes that took place in the early stage of the WANNI
operations (Sri Lanka
Army).

LTTE leaders boxed in
less than one square kilometer stretch - Sri
Lankan soldiers have boxed remaining LTTE cadres into a 400m x 600m land
stretch in the Vellaimullaivaikkal area, reveal the latest battlefield
reports. According to the sources, troops have already rescued all the
civilians held at hostage by the terrorists and taken them to safer areas.
Military spokesperson Udaya Nanayakkara said that over 50,000 civilians
have been rescued from the LTTE hold during last 72 hours. The counter
terrorist move is being continued (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Army rescues Seven
servicemen held captive by LTTE - : Army rescues
four sailors and three soldiers held captive by the LTTE this morning
(17). (Media Centre for National
Security).

Security forces liberate
all civilians held hostage in Vellamullavaikkal - The
Media Centre for National Security says the security forces have now
liberated all civilians held hostage by the LTTE in the Vellamullavaikkal
area in Mullativu. Troops have also consolidated this area. As of today
security forces have liberated nearly 240,000 civilians
(SLBC).

Over 36,000 hostages
rescued; troops enter LTTE's last hideout - Sri
Lankan soldiers have reached the concluding phase of their humanitarian
operation in the Island's northeast as they rescued over 36,000 civilians
from LTTE hold during last 24 hours. According to the battlefield sources,
Army 58, 53 and 59 Division soldiers have entered into the area where LTTE
leaders have been cowering among the civilians during last couple of
weeks. Soldiers are now looking for sick and disabled people that may be
left in the area as almost all the others held at hostage by the
terrorists have been rescued. Meanwhile, LTTE made an abortive attempt to
breach the Army defence line on the Western bank of the Nanthikadal lagoon
during the wee hours today (May 17). The LTTE cadres launched a surface
attack across the Nanthikadal lagoon using several boats between 1.30 AM
to 3.30 AM. According to the latest information, troops have been able to
crush the LTTE attack causing heavy damages to the terrorists. More
information will follow...
(sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

A proud President returns
to his terror free motherland - President
Mahinda Rajapaksa after a two day official visit to Jordon returned in an
emotion packed jubilant mood to his motherland this morning at the
Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake. As he kept his foot on the
soil of his nation, filled with emotion and joy,President Rajapaksa
touched the soil and worshipped his motherland in tribute in a heart
rending manner that moved many a patriotic citizen of this country freed
from the menace of terrorism after 30 long years. Religious dignitaries
from Buddhist,Christian,Hindu and Islamic faith bestowed blessings on the
Head of State who had freed the nation from the menace of LTTE terrorism
which cost nearly 100,000 lives of citizens in a 30 year cruel terrorist
war (Full
details Sri Lanka Govt Website).

A Letter from a Tamil
Gentleman from London - I came across the SPUR
website recently, and my mother and I have been reading it for the past
few days. We are very happy that there is a website which exposes the lies
behind the Pro-LTTE groups' claims of "discrimination". If there
was "discrimination" taking place, my mother would have known -
she lived in Jaffna during the 1970s, and her entire family was happily
employed in the public sector! We were also very happy that you have
documented the entire list of the atrocities of the LTTE, because these
things must never be forgotten. That county has been reeling from the evil
that the LTTE brought to the island, and yet it is the LTTE that the
(western) world seems to support! My mother and I are tamil - and find it
very difficult to find people who share the same opinions as us, in the
tamil community. So we were very happy to come across your organization ,
and I wanted to find out a bit more about how we can get involved. We live
in London. Is there any london-based office that we can contact, or else
are there any events that you are organizing within London? We would like
to get to know more people like us!

Miliband snubbed for
interference in Sri Lanka’s IMF Loan issue - David
Milband has beenDavid Milband snubbed for his interference in the Sri
Lanka’s IMF loan issue. Also his knowledge of Sri Lanka has been
questioned. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has expressed its s deep
distressed over the recent media reports, where David Miliband, the
Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom have "raised doubts about
whether Colombo could be trusted to use a US$ 1.9 billion loan from the
IMF appropriately," points out a communiqué issued by the Economic
Research Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. "For the
purposes of record, the Central Bank wishes to state that during the past
25 years, the IMF has granted nine loans to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka
and the Bank has utilized all such IMF facilities very honorably in strict
compliance with the terms of disbursement, and repaid such facilities
without a single default. In fact, Sri Lanka has never delayed or
defaulted on any loan, and consequently, has maintained an unblemished
record of debt servicing. In that context, Miliband’s alleged statement
is very unfortunate and disturbing, since it casts a slur on the
impeccable debt servicing record of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, as well
as Sri Lanka’s deep commitment to meeting its obligations," the
communiqué said (Asian
Tribune).

Fire fuels tension over
crisis in Sri Lanka - A fire investigator works
May 16, 2009 at the scene of a suspicious fire at the Maha Vihara Buddhist
Meditation Centre at 4698 Kingston Rd. Nalaka Tissamaharamaya, a thin
Sinhalese monk in a red fleece and saffron robes, has not attended ESL
classes in more than two weeks, fearing the short walk from his temple
down Kingston Rd. Yesterday, his fears were confirmed when a fire swept
through the predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist temple in Scarborough. Police
said they are investigating arson. The monk said about two weeks ago a
note supporting Tamil protests in downtown Toronto was pasted to the front
door and threatening phone calls became increasingly frequent. The temple
attack coincided with the Sri Lankan military saying they had defeated the
Tamil Tigers by seizing control of the island nation's entire coastline
for the first time in a 25-year war – a claim Canadian Tamils rejected
as they continued to protest here. The fire at the Maha Vihara meditation
centre has threatened to further polarize Toronto's Sri Lankan community.
And last night, Toronto Police Staff Sgt. Kevin Murrell said they have no
suspects yet, but the Tamil community "would be the natural place to
start looking," given the tensions between the Sinhalese and the
Tamil community. Around 11 p.m. Friday, as violence in Sri Lanka was
reaching a bloody crescendo, Tissamaharamaya, 32, fearing the conflict
might spark the tense situation in Toronto, called police, who were
already on alert (Full
report in The Star).

DEFEAT IS TO THE WEST AND
THE CHURCH THE JOB IS WELL DONE - By Stanley
Perera - To: The West and the Church The church gifted the western
countries with over 1.5 million bogus Tamil refugees from the north and
east of Sri Lanka. Every rich western country was allocated with thousands
and thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils. The corrupt western politicians fell
over each other to grab the opportunity to fill their electorates with the
bogus Tamil refugees. Over and above the allocation, Martin hurried to Sri
Lanka’s north Jaffna with the Tsunami to import into Canada another
100,000 Tamils to fill his Canadian electorate. These bogus refugees were
given a free air passage to Canada and their basic needs were taken care
of by the tax payer’s money. In the 80s Sri Lanka experienced a massive
exodus of Tamil people into the western countries sponsored by the church.
These bogus Tamil refugees became very strong allies with the power
hungry, money hungry western politicians. Naturally the western countries
turned a blind eye to the money laundering, drug running, credit cards and
passport scams with human smuggling by the Tamil Diaspora. Lethal weapons
from the British Army were supplied to the LTTE terrorists through Tamil
Nadu while technical knowhow with plant and equipment and weapons were
supplied through INGOs and NGOs by the west. Every international
organisation in the world, UNO, UNESCO, ABC, BBC, AI was infiltrated by
the Anti Sri Lankan Tamils. AI did not spare the sports even. AI followed
Sri Lankan Cricket team to Barbados on the World cup to conduct its
campaign against Sri Lanka. Tamil Diaspora successfully managed to
influence local government politics to federal politics in their host
countries (Full
report in LankaWeb).

Has LTTE leader
Prabhakaran embraced death? - Speculation is
rife among knowledgeable circles in Colombo that Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is no more among the
living. It is widely believed that the 54 year old tiger supremo who was
born on November 26th 1954 has committed suicide along with more than 300
of his deputies and senior cadres in the Mullivaaikkaal area of
Karaithuraipatru AGA division in Mullaitheevu district. Though the
Defence ministry website says that the tiger leader trapped with his
deputies is planning to commit mass suicide there are reports that the “Thalaivar”
(leader) and “poraligal” (fighters) have already committed “Veeramaranam”
(heroic death). Unconfirmed reports say that the injured LTTE leader and
several of his senior deputies had embraced death voluntarily in keeping
with the LTTE practice of suicide. There were also conflicting reports
that the LTTE had triggered off a huge explosion in which their bodies
were destroyed after taking cyanide first. Another report said the armed
forces had identified the “structure” in which Prabhakaran was staying
and demolished it through powerful explosives (BSB
Jeyaraj).

MAKE 17th MAY OUR DAY OF
INDEPENDENCE - Mario Perera, Kadawata - This
morning seeing our President return from abroad, descending from the
plane, kneeling and worshiping the soil of Sri Lanka would no doubt have
brought tears to many an eye, in any case it did to mine. If these white
“hypocrisies” watched the reception accorded to our president, and the
heart warming discourses of one and all that form the fabric of our civil
society, they would perhaps realize, if they have eyes to see, that the
entire nation is with its leader, that this leader is the embodiment of
our fondest national aspiration, that of being ONE. We celebrate the 4th
of February as our National Independence day. We know however that our
independence was an adjunct of Indian independence. We benefited from the
struggle India undertook to rid herself of the white man’s rule.
Furthermore, that independence was inserted into the history of our party
politics which has been the bane of our civic lives. Long ago I expressed
the view that we will never feel independent unless we win it, like so
many others did, with our blood. That utterance shocked some of my
friends. Do you want to see bloodshed in our country they asked? Nobody
wants bloodshed, but freedom is somehow synonymous with blood, as shown in
history. Our independence of the 4th of February was a paperwork effort, a
lip service endeavour (Full
report in LankaWeb).

Few countries have faced
terrorism so severely as Sri Lanka - Lord Neseby -
By: Walter Jayawardhana - Telling few democratically elected governments
have faced terrorism as severely as Sri Lanka , Lord Naseby challenged the
United Kingdom to deliver money promised by the Blair government for
reconstruction. Lord Naseby writing in the latest issue of the Royal
Commonwealth Society Magazine said, "the Challenge for the UK is to
deliver money promised by the Blair government for reconstruction. Those
Labour MP's who have Tamils in their constituencies should stop playing
politics . They should tell the Diaspora to stop funding the Tigers so
that ordinary Tamils can enjoy peace and rebuild their lives." Lord
Naseby , who is the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sri
Lanka further said in the magazine that Sri Lanka has faced terrorism for
over 25 years, resulting in vast devastations, that needs massive
reconstructions. He said, The Tamil Tigers are elected by no one, their
sole objective is to achieve Eelam at any cost. And, said he, what a cost:
Prime Minister Gandhi and President Premadasa assassinated; hundreds of
moderate Tamils murdered; child soldiers recruited in their hundreds to be
put on the front line and killed. "No wonder these terrorists are
proscribed in the US, Canada, UK, EU and other countries," he said (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

Is LTTE in secret,
indirect talks with US to surrender? - Sri Lanka’s
embattled Tamil Tigers may be engaged in secret though indirect talks with
the United States for a face-saving formula to save its
militarily-cornered leadership. It has been known that the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has reached out to the new US administration,
courtesy Norway, one factor why an upset Colombo stripped Oslo of its role
as the peace facilitator. IANS has learnt from reliable sources that
Norway - the former peace facilitator between Sri Lanka and the LTTE - is
in regular touch with Tamil Tiger representatives outside the island
nation. S. Pathmanathan, the newly appointed LTTE’s head of
International Relations department, is in touch with some Western
diplomats to find out if the military onslaught in Sri Lanka can somehow
be halted. Unimpeachable diplomatic sources have confirmed to IANS the
LTTE’s moves, but say they are not sure if Pathmanathan, widely known by
his alias KP, is acting on his own or on the direction of the rebel
leadership. Said one source knowledgeable about the development: “If we
get information they are ready to surrender, it might be possible to
arrange that. But time is very short. It is very late in the game.” The
aim of the LTTE representatives engaged in the exercise is to see whether
an agreement can still be worked that would lead to a honourable exit of
LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran from the scene. The LTTE has concluded
that the only country that has the power to influence such an outcome is
the US (The
Indian News).

70 Tigers killed in
confrontations this morning - Soldiers have
repulsed an attempt made by the tiger terrorists to infiltrate the
Nandikadal army Forward Defence Line in Mullativu. In subsequent Army
attacks early this morning over 70 tiger terrorists have been killed.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said six large LTTE vessels
were completely destroyed. Troops have recovered around 70 terrorist
bodies together with their weapons. Meanwhile, soldiers have also rescued
six armed force members who were in terrorist custody. Over the last three
days soldiers have rescued 54,097 civilians. During yesterday alone nearly
37,000 civilians were rescued (SLBC).

HE Arrives Sri Lanka -
His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka and Commander in
Chief of the Armed Forces has arrived Sri Lanka after a two day official
visit to the Kingdom of Jordan where he participated the G-11 summit.

People in all parts in
the country are getting ready to celebrate the great victory -
People in all parts of the country are getting ready to celebrate the
great victory achieved by the security forces defeating terrorism. Every
house has hoisted the national flag to honour war hero’s liberated the
country from terrorism under the leadership of President Mahinda
Rajapakse, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Chiefs of the three
forces and Police. Religious ceremonies are also being taken place to
invoke blessing on the security forces
(SLBC).

Religious leaders ask all
citizens to preserve achieved peace - Religious
leaders say maintenance of the achieved peace in the country is a
responsibility of all citizens. Mahanayaka of Ramangya Nikaya Most
Venerable Wewaldeniye Medhalankara Thero says humanitarian mission carried
out by the security forces under the leadership of President Mahinda
Rajapakse will be concluded within few days. Chancellor of the University
of Kelaniya Venerable WElamitiyawe Kuasadamma thero says mission of
President Mahinda Rajapakse can be considered as the reincarnation of king
Dutugemunu. Venerable thero urged all citizens to hoist National Flag in
front of their residences
(SLBC).

‘LTTE are terrorists,
Prabhakaran a thug’ Sri Lanka has legitimate right to eradicate
terrorism – Gareth Evans - by Sujeeva
Nivunhella in London Gareth Evans, the former Foreign Minister of
Australia and the Chief Executive of the Brussels-based International
Crisis Group, said that a democratic government had a legitimate right to
eradicate terrorism. "I have no doubt the LTTE are terrorists and
that Prabhakaran is a thug", he noted. Speaking at a seminar
organized by the Royal Commonwealth Society titled "Sri Lanka : What
Role for Global Actors", in London last week, he said that however,
the Sri Lankan government had to abide by UN Conventions and Humanitarian
issues. If a government failed to do that then the R2P principle would
have to be enforced by the International Community. "More than 50,000
civilians were being held by the LTTE as a human shield", Evans said.
"The Sri Lankan government is determined to bring terrorism to an
end." Evans was one of Australia's longest serving Foreign Ministers,
best known internationally for his roles in developing the UN peace plan
for Cambodia, bringing to a conclusion the international Chemical Weapons
Convention, founding the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum
and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and initiating the Canberra Commission on
the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Full
report in Sunday Island).

Depressed
Ranil
meets vultures in Western Countries

Opposition
Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is currently on a European tour
held talks with former Norwegian Peace Envoy in the Sri Lanka Peace
process, Erick Solheim in Norway and many other European leaders.

The Role of Tamils in the
Ethnonationalist Crisis in Sri Lanka - By
Prof. Shantha K. Hennayake Department of Geography University of
Peradeniya, Sri Lanka - The purpose of this paper is to study the
extent to which Tamil politicians themselves are responsible for the
ethnonationalist problem that Sri Lanka is facing today. Enough, in fact
too much has been written about the share of the Sri Lankan state,
successive governments, and the Sinhalese people in this crisis. There is
absolutely no doubt that all these three actors have a very large
responsibility in leading the crisis to the present level. Whatever the
counter arguments by these three actors, unless they come to accept that
both intentionally and unintentionally they are also responsible for the
crisis and try to address them we will not be able to find a lasting
solution to the crisis. Realization that Tamils, especially the Tamil
politicians themselves have been responsible for the ethnonationalist
crisis in general and the pathetic state to which the Tamil society in Sri
Lanka has been reduced to is of paramount importance today, especially
because the democratic Tamil politicians will once again be participating
in the governing of the country and debating on how best to take Tamil
society forward in the post-LTTE era. In reality the evolution
of Tamil ethnonationalist politics cannot be properly understood without
paying attention to the interactive nature of all the actors who include
not only the above three but also the Tamil political leaders and Tamil
people as well. However, a vast majority of the writings on the present
crisis by both Sinhalese and Tamils on the one hand and the popular
thinking both here and abroad on the other hand ahs directly and
indirectly interpreted Tamil ethnonationalism purely as a form of reactive
politics amending and adjusting to the circumstances created by the non
Tamil actors in Sri Lankan politics[1]. Some argue that it is only with
the emergence of the LTTE that Tamil ethnonationalist politics have become
active. Even here, they argue that they are simply led to take up
arms reluctantly because all other attempts ended up in failure. A running
theme in the writing of Tamil ethnonationalist politics has been that it
is an inevitable process into which Tamil were unwillingly drawn or rather
forced by the others[2]. Tamils themselves are seen simply as
passive reactors. This is a very popular and powerful “myth”
subscribed to by both Tamils and Sinhalese, and Sri Lankans and
foreigners. I find this to be a very serious shortcoming in the Sri Lankan
political historiography (Full
report in SPUR).

LTTE Leader Prabhakaran
Suicide Last Night ? - According the News
channel , LTTE Leader Prabhakaran Suicide with Supporters. A Big Blast
Fire at the LTTE Base. Tamil Tigers were on the verge of total collapse
with just a kiolmetre separating two Sri Lankan Army divisions from
overrunning the entire coastal area held by them, even as the families of
LTTE leaders began to flee the war zone. With the Lankan offensive
appeared reaching its conclusion, more than 10,000 trapped Tamil civilians
fled the last remaining area held by the LTTE as President Mahinda
Rajapaksa vowed to stamp out the rebels within the next 48 hours. In
another big blow to the LTTE, which has been plagued with desertions by
senior leaders, family members of LTTE’s naval wing chief Col Soosai,
including his wife, were captured by the Sri Lankan Navy as they tried to
flee the island in a boat (Full
report in Fresh News).

LTTE leaders prepare for
mass suicide – Army - LTTE leaders are
preparing for a mass suicide after being effectively cut-off of escape
routes, both land and sea and now encircled in a mere 3.5 sq. km of land
West of Vellamullivaikkal, military sources said citing intercepted LTTE
communication. According to defence observers, the LTTE senior ranks are
expecting to prolong its imminent defeat resorting to such futile terror
tactics using civilian hostages, new recruits and black tigers as weapons
of mass destruction (WMDs). "The terrorists have no way to go and the
only way out is to surrender with the security forces or to be crushed in
the military advance", a military official said. Terrorists are
blowing off large explosive and ammunition dumps and also using stocks of
white phosphorous with improvised barrel bombs to create large destruction
within the hostage makeshift camps. Meanwhile, an LTTE attempt to ram an
explosive laden bus into the 58 Division forward defences failed with the
vehicle exploding prematurely. No damages were caused to troops, the
military said adding that at least 10 terrorists were killed due to the
blast. During initial interrogations conducted, Soosai’s wife had told
with the Navy that her husband along with LTTE leader Prabhakaran, Pottu
Amman and some other key terrorists as still holed up in the small area at
Vellamullivaikal (Sunday
Island).

Defeated Tigers will not
be allowed to regroup: Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's
army chief vowed Sunday the Tamil Tigers would not be allowed to regroup
and pledged that the rebels, once seen as one of the world's deadliest
guerrilla outfits, would soon be forgotten. The government said a massive
offensive against the separatist Tigers was all but complete, with the
entire island under its control for the first time in years but for a
minuscule pocket of jungle on the northeast coast. "Sri Lanka's
military will ensure that there is no future for the LTTE (Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said in an
interview published in the state-run Sunday Observer. "The LTTE will
be forgotten soon," added the army chief, who led the successful
military offensive against the Tamil Tigers. He said President Mahinda
Rajapakse's firm stand that there would be no peace talks unless the
Tigers scrapped their armed campaign was key to the successful crushing of
the once-formidable militants
(The News).

LTTE defeated: Freedom
after 30 long years President declares at G-11 Summit: The
President in his address at the Jordan G-11 Summit said that he was happy
to observe that the G-11 has made sufficient progress since its beginning.
As the world’s only grouping of lower middle income countries. it has
succeeded in becoming a global partnership to address our common
challenges. Excerpts from the President’s address as follows: (Full
report in Sunday Observer).

Give till it hurts -
Even as you read this, the last of the LTTE’s conventional military
capacity would have been smashed. Whether Prabhakaran, his intelligence
chief, Pottu Amman, and Sea Tiger leader Soosai, whose wife and two
teenage children were found by the navy in a boat off the Mullaitivu coast
on Friday, will be taken ``dead or alive’’ as has been promised
remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the rapidly unfolding events last week
clearly signaled the ability of the Tamil Diaspora to move the western
powers to demand an end to the fighting with even President Barack Obama,
in remarks made at the White House, joining the chorus. The LTTE too did
not come off unscathed by what the world had to say. Obama was on record
demanding that the Tigers let go the civilian human shield they held at
gunpoint but even so, it was also clear that Colombo’s claim that heavy
armour and airpower was not being used at this final stage of the conflict
had few believers in the international community. While to varying degrees
the various Western European nations mounting pressure on the Sri Lanka
government conceded the LTTE’s dastardly human shield strategy, that was
muted in relation to the demand that the military putsch be halted (Read
full Editorial in Sunday Island).

Western
Arms Manufacturers who wants to create battlefields anywhere in the
World to promote their business are now defeated ......

Spectre of
Mass Suicide as Tamil Tigers Face Final Battle - Facing
the crushing defeat of their 26-year insurgency as Sri Lankan military
closes in on the last sliver of territory under their control, the
embattled separatist fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
are not expected to allow themselves to be taken alive. "LTTE
terrorists are preparing for a mass suicide after being effectively
cut-off of escape routes, both land and sea and now encircled in a mere
3.5 square kilometer [1.4 square miles] of land west of Vellamullivaikkal,"
the Defence Ministry said on Saturday, citing intercepted communications.
"According to defence observers, the LTTE senior ranks are expecting
to prolong its imminent defeat resorting to such futile terror tactics
using civilian hostages, new recruits and black tigers [suicide cadres] as
weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)." (Full
report in Time).

An Artist's imagination of
Prabhakaran at 11th hour

Forces wrap up Eastern
coast - The Army which is in the final phase of
the rescue operation took control of the entire eastern coastal area when
the 58 and 59 Division Troops linked up together depriving the LTTE of the
coastal belt yesterday. The 58 Division marching from the north linked up
with 59 Division troops who were forging ahead northbound in the New Safe
Zone yesterday morning. Accordingly, troops of the 11 Gemunu Watch in 59
Division and 11 Sri Lanka Light Infantry in 58 Division have taken control
of the entire Mullaitivu costal belt. Meanwhile over 10,000 civilians,
also made use of the newly opened ‘escape route’ via the Nanthi Kadal
lagoon in the past 24 hours, braving the LTTE’s indiscriminate firing in
the Vadduvakkal area as civilians began to flee. Those who escaped in
different batches on tyre tubes and boats faced many dangers on the way.
The Army troops after providing medical aid and light meals took them to
the nearest IDP centres. Two hundred and forty one LTTE cadres have
surrendered to the Security Forces during the past two days (Sunday
Observer).

Luxuries
life from the expenses of innocent Tamil civilians

Tamil Nadu voters not
swayed by Lankan issue - As the DMK proved
pollsters wrong with a strong performance in a majority of Tamil Nadu’s
39 Lok Sabha seats, Maran told NDTV TV: “People (of Tamil Nadu) have
given a clear mandate.” Asked if the emotive issue of Sri Lanka’s
military offensive against the Tamil Tigers had played a role in
balloting, as many had expected, he said: “That has not played a role.”
AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha and her allies in the MDMK and PMK had taken
an aggressive line in Tamil Nadu during the election campaign blaming the
Sri Lankan and Indian Governments for the suffering of Tamil civilians in
the island nation. Jayalalitha threatened to send the Indian Army to Sri
Lanka to carve out a Tamil Eelam State if her coalition won most seats in
Tamil Nadu and if she ended up playing a key role in government formation
in New Delhi. The Indian elections, which concluded, yesterday giving
another mandate to the ruling Congress party, is clear indication that the
Indian public has rejected terrorism. Local political analysts said that
Sri Lankan issue had become a big electoral theme in the southern state of
Tamil Nadu, with two main regional parties that have dominated state
politics for the last four decades - the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
and the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) making the Sri Lanka
factor a prime issue of their campaigns. “However rejection of these
political parties clearly spell out that the Indian public has endorsed
what the Government’s humanitarian operation in the North,” a
University political lecturer said. Both parties vied with each other to
impress the electorate with their commitment to “protect” the
interests of Sri Lankan Tamils. “However this slogan had little impact
and the people have rejected it,” he said (Sunday
Observer).

Sri
Lanka will not leave any room for outsiders to promote separatism
and terrorism in the future.

Media Release of SLUNA -
Our Peaceful Protest on May 13th was to PROTECT CANADA FROM TAMIL TIGERS
NO OTHER DEMONSTRATIONS ARE PLANNED BY US AT PRESENT TIME - We
were joined by members of the Sri Lanka Youth of Canada to hold a peaceful
mini-demonstration at the Riverdale Park in Toronto without obstructing
any of our fellow citizens of this great city where our message was in the
form of an appeal to ‘Protect Canada, and the need to Stop the Tamil
Tigers’ who were blatantly infringing on others rights. We followed this
with a news conference on the following day and reinforced the message of
terrorism taking root in this country, especially that of the banned Tamil
Tiger terrorist movement which was openly instigating the diaspora members
to flout Canada’s laws including the blocking of major freeways to push
their agenda to the legislators of this country. WE HAVE NO PLANS OF
HOLDING ANY FURTHER DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE CITY AT THE PRESENT TIME. We are
deeply perturbed by the announcement made this morning by CP24 that Sri
Lankans were organizing a PROTEST AT QUEEN’S PARK scheduled to commence
at 1.00 p.m. this afternoon, when no such intimation has been given to
this media by any of our Sri Lankan community organizations. Furthermore,
the announcement went on to state that this demonstration was being
organized by Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Toronto. THERE IS NO TRUTH TO
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AIRED BY CP24. We are left to wonder if this is yet
another attempt by the pro-Tamil Tiger diaspora to fool the public into
believing that non-Tamil Sri Lankan Canadians are staging a protest to
confront them in downtown Toronto and cause a disturbance in order to
discredit the Sinhalese and other law abiding members of the Sri Lankan
community? It is with deep shock and sorrow that we report the
attempt to burn down the all wooden, beautiful Buddhist Temple at 4698
Kingston Road, Scarborough, causing damage to the building, glass cabinets
and a collection of Buddha Images and other venerated religious items in
the early hours of this morning. Similar attacks have been carried out in
several European countries on Buddhist temples by violent groups
associated with the pro-Tamil Tiger diaspora, which is reacting in this
unruly manner as their heroes in the banned Tamil Tiger terrorists are
finally being eliminated after a 30 year nightmare of suicide bombings,
ethnic cleansing and mass killngs of innocent civilians of all of the
constituent communities (Read
full Media

More facilities for
pregnant girls in Wanni - The National Child
Protection Authority (NCPA) will provide more probation officers and
paediatricians at the Chettikulam Government Hospital to meet the needs of
pregnant mothers who arrived in the cleared areas during the past few
months. It is reported that about twenty-five pregnant mothers who came
from the No Fire Zone (NFZ) were admitted to the Chettikulam hospital.
NCPA Chairman Jagath Wellawatte told the Sunday Observer that his
Authority has received information regarding the increase in the number of
teenage pregnancies among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and he
visited hospitals in the North last week to look into the welfare of such
persons. He said that almost all teenage girls who came to the cleared
areas were given in marriage by their parents to prevent them being
forcibly recruited to the LTTE as child soldiers. "According to
doctors in the Chettikulam Hospital, these teenage pregnant girls are
given treatment to deliver babies, but 25 percent of them suffer from
malnutrition," he said. The NCPA Chairman has called upon the Health
Department to study the matter further and provide the needs for these
pregnant mothers. Asked what action has been taken by the NCPA on children
in welfare camps, he said all of them are safe and not a single child
abuse case has been reported so far due to the excellent facilities
provided. He said in keeping with the duties of the NCPA, a special
Monitoring Mission Unit (MMU) was set up in Vavuniya under the guidance of
former DIG Daya Petikirikorala. "In addition, six officials including
female officers were also appointed to look into various other activities
such as mental and physical abuses that could take place at welfare
camps," he said (Sunday
Observer).

Fall of LTTE: threat to
top leaders perceived - With the total victory
of the Sri Lankan armed forces over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,
which faces elimination as a conventional military force, Indian
intelligence agencies perceive a high level of threat to VVIPs and a
couple of bureaucrats in the country. Reports of the Research and Analysis
Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency, the Intelligence
Bureau, and other security organisations indicate an escalated level of
threat to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi,
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, and
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon. According to an informed source in
the Ministry of Home Affairs, senior LTTE leaders were of the impression
that the Government of India was responsible for their outfit losing the
war with the Sri Lankan Army. Some articles published in pro-LTTE websites
squarely blamed India for the alleged ‘genocide’ of Tamils in the
island nation. According to a recent RAW input, a LTTE functionary is in
touch with some persons in Tamil Nadu to facilitate the movement of
refugees into India. One more suspect based in Tamil Nadu is reportedly
coordinating constantly with the LTTE and even organised mid-sea transfer
of a consignment at a point less than 100 km east of Karaikal on March 19
this year. The content of the consignment was not known (Full
report in Hindu).

Soosai's wife, Sathyadevi had
revealed that Mathivathani, wife of Prabhakaran, along with Charles
Anthony and Balachandran both Prabhakaran’s elder and younger son, are
also holed up in the New Safety Zone area along with Prabhkaran.

Soosai’s wife mum on
Prabhakaran - Friday’s detection by the Sri
Lanka Navy (SLN) of Sea Tiger leader Soosai’s wife and two teenaged
children attempting to slip into India strengthened the belief that LTTE
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran may still be in the last patch of territory
the LTTE held in the Vanni up to that point of time. Soosai’s wife
Satyadevi had admitted that her husband was alive but refused to say
anything about Prabhakaran’s whereabouts according to an SLN spokesman.
He said that the boat in which the group which included Soosai’s wife
and teenaged daughter and son carried adequate fuel to reach Indian waters
and was equipped with a map and a global positioning system (GPS) as well
as adequate funds for their upkeep prior to their being moved to a
pre-arranged destination (Sunday
Island).

And where is Prabakaran?
- As the curtains fall on the conventional war
against the LTTE, the million-dollar question on everyone’s mind is the
whereabouts of the maverick LTTE supremo, Velupillai Prabakaran. Wife of
Sea Tiger chief Soosai, who was caught by the Navy on Friday, told her
interrogators he was inside the war zone. However, the troops have not
been able to zero in on him or any of his family members till Saturday
night. The LTTE is a monolithic outfit with a single leader and no
second-in-command. It was only logical that it was Prabakaran throughout
the Eelam phase IV which commenced in August 2006. Therein lies the
significance of the question where he could be and what he is plotting.
Either he is in the battle zone or has made good his escape long before
the military marched into the last remaining territory under occupation of
the Tigers. Those who believe he is very much in the thick of the last
moments of the war and those convinced that he has vanished long before
offer sound logic to buttress their thesis. The military commanders on the
ground believe Prabakaran is among the remaining cadre and leaders. It is
essentially based on the premise that the Tigers would not continue their
resistance in the face of inevitable elimination in the hands of the
military unless Prabakaran is present amid them (Full
report in Hindu).

The
number of Tamil civilians killed, injured and tortured by the LTTE
is much more that the number of Sinhalese killed, injured and
tortured by the LTTE. Prabhakaran has destroyed
many generations of Tamils.

Subtly biased reporting
on the human tragedy triggered by the LTTE in its last gasp - Somini
Sengupta wrote a harrowing tale about a Tamil family which escaped the war
zone in the north east of Sri Lanka and attempted a sea voyage to India in
a boat that let them down. The article, titled In a Boat Adrift, a Deadly
Escape from Sri Lanka, appeared on Thursday May 7 on the front page of the
International Herald Tribune. I write this response because the article is
unjustifiably biased against the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and
conveys misinformation. The very title is misleading. There need be no
escape from Sri Lanka, least of all a deadly one. The deadly escape is
from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who in their last gasp
are determined to take thousands of civilians to death with them, holding
them forcibly in the beleaguered stretch of land they are holed in. The
Tigers retain these hapless men, women and children as a shield to stop
the army’s last onslaught on this terrorist group – identified
internationally as the world’s deadliest and most ruthless. There is no
need to escape Sri Lanka since the country, its government and its people
welcome the Tamil civilians to come south to safety (Full
report in Sunday Island).

Friendly Lanka good for
India - The hectic Indian General Eelction has
just been concluded with an emphatic victory to the Congress Party-led
coalition Government. It has remained the only party to gain national
acceptance. Its secular policies and appeal to the millions of new voters
of forging a Modern India have paid dividends over the Bharatiya Janatha
Party (BJP) which was seen as a party playing the Hindu communal card
while being distinctively urbane and without grassroots support in the
larger Indian states, or without winning allies in these states. Closer
home, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a desperate attempt by
opportunist politicians to play the 'Sri Lanka Tamil' card also came a
cropper. The vociferous spokesmen for the LTTE in Sri Lanka have been
defeated at the polls. For Sri Lanka, there really would have been no
great concern as to whether the Congress or the BJP became the senior
partner in a coalition Government in New Delhi. As far as Sri Lanka's
battle against the LTTE has been concerned, both Congress and BJP
Governments have been supportive of the Colombo Government , albeit to a
limited extent (Full
report in Sunday Times).

President to announce end
of war - Army, Soosai’s wife claim Prabha,
other Tiger leaders trapped in NFZ Country’s entire coastline under
govt. control; remaining area to be captured within hours. President
Mahinda Rajapaksa, anytime on or after Monday, will make an official
announcement that the military campaign against Tiger guerrillas has
formally ended. The date of such an announcement, The Sunday Times learns,
will be designated National Liberation Day to be observed every year.
President Rajapaksa is due in Colombo today after a visit to Jordan to
attend the World Economic Forum and the G11 summit. Also due in Colombo
today after an official visit to China is Army Commander Sarath Fonseka,
one of the main architects of the military victories. The impending
declaration signalling the end of war follows a major battlefield success
by two Divisions of the Army – 58 and 59 – before crack of dawn
yesterday. Troops of the two Divisions, during a pincer movement
overnight, linked up seizing total control of the sea front that straddled
the No-Fire or Civilian Safety Zone. The 58 Division had advanced
southwards to link up with troops of the 59 Division. A greater
significance of this link up is the creation of history. For the first
time since Tiger guerrillas launched their separatist campaign, the Sri
Lankan security forces were now in total control of the entirety of the
island’s coastline.After they fortified their defences along the
coastline stretching some two kilometres by last morning, a further
advance had to be temporarily stalled for hours (Full
report in Sunday Times).

Congress sweeps back to
office; Jayalalitha’s Eelam call rejected - With
the Congress Party-led alliance retaining control of the Indian
parliament, winning more than 255 seats in a house of 545, there should be
greater clarity in policy for a number of reasons. First, it is a
coalition government but the Congress is an undisputed senior partner.
After its victory, the party spokesman said: “we will stand by our
allies, new allies are welcome but no one is indispensable”. This
suggests that instead of mollycoddling coalition partners as it had been
forced to do after its alliance won the 2004 elections, the Congress will
dictate policy in a manner that is more confident and self-assured (Full
report in Sunday Times).

Loud blasts point to mass
suicide? - Loud explosions on Wednesday night in
Vellamullivaikal, located within the No-Fire or Civilian Safety Zone have
become the talking point in the intelligence community. Once a small
coastal village rehabilitated after the devastating tsunami of December
2004, the area had been taken control of by fleeing guerrilla cadres.
Though ensconced within a teeming civilian population, armed LTTE cadres
had denied entry to them. Only selected cadres have been allowed to move
in. Intelligence sources said there were a number of reasons why the
explosions, heard miles away, could have occurred. One is the possibility
that the guerrillas were destroying documents and other material to
prevent them falling into troops hands. Another they say is the likelihood
of some senior cadres committing suicide (Sunday
Times).

British PM warns Sri
Lanka of ' consequences' over conflict - LONDON,
May 16 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today warned Sri Lanka
there would be "consequences for its actions" if Colombo did not
allow humanitarian agencies access to civilians and end the conflict with
Tamil Tiger rebels. Brown also called for the LTTE to lay down its arms
and allow trapped civilians to leave, and said he was backing United
Nations efforts to end the conflict. Sri Lanka stands on the brink,"
Brown said in a statement. "We have called repeatedly for the
violence to cease. “The humanitarian agencies must be granted access to
civilians caught in the crossfire of a dreadful conflict. We are backing
UN efforts to secure an orderly end to the conflict. The LTTE must lay
down its arms and allow civilians to leave. Sri Lanka must understand that
there will be consequences for its actions.” A spokesman for Brown's
Downing Street office told AFP the British leader would speak to Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa by phone later this weekend, and added
that Brown had already called Rajapaksa "several times to make his
concerns clear." (Sunday
Times).

Praba & 700
terrorists commit suicide? - Unconfirmed reports
say that nearly 700 hardcore tiger cadres including Prabakaran and other
senior leaders committed a mass suicide today at the small strip of land
tiger leaders and other senior members were hiding. However, security
sources refrained from confirming this information. The announcement of
total defeat of tiger terrorists would be announced by the President when
he returns to the island tomorrow morning and Monday will be declared a
holiday. The government has requested all homes to fly the National flag
on Sunday to mark the victory over terrorism by heroic Security Forces (Lanka
Truth)..

Don Martin’s comment on
Tamil demonstrations - by Asoka Weerasinghe -
The Editor (Letters) THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, Sir: Don Martin’ s comment (May
16) on Tamil traffic strategy as a way to get noticed was an interesting
observation. What needs to be clear is that taking over the Gardiner
Expressway was no spontaneous strategy by the pro-Tamil Tiger
demonstrators last week, as it was orchestrated by the LTTE propaganda
strategists. The Tamil Radio Station announcements in Canada were pulling
the marionette strings. Martin’s observation is right again when he says
“Search me. Sri Lanka isn’t a country that will jump to Canada’s
command – and there’s not an MP in the Commons who believes otherwise.”
If Canada ever had a Lester Pearsonian Nobel Peacemaker leverage over Sri
Lanka, we frittered it away under the Liberal administration when we let
the Tamil Diaspora collect 2 million dollars a month to stuff the Tamil
Tiger war chest and refused to ban the Tamil Tiger terrorists when the
rest of the world began to ban them. According to Jane’s Intelligence,
the Tamil Diaspora around the world raise as much as $200-300 million
annually of which around 30 percent is contributed from Canada to procure
weapons which has gone unabated despite Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Laws. In
other words, Sri Lanka quite rightly believes that Canada has been part of
their Tamil Tiger terrorist problem.

Convince Tamil diaspora
they have future in Lanka – Wimal Weerawansa -
Q: The last remaining areas under LTTE control will be captured by the
armed forces in the next few hours/ days. But there is still a lot of
pressure from the International Community? A: This is the most important
moment in our history after we gained independence in 1948. We did not win
the independence via a true freedom struggle; the British just handed us
independence to us, when Indians gained their independence. It took
another 24 years for us to truly cut loose from the empire and become a
republic. Ever since 1972, the imperialistic forces have used various
methods to destabilise the country, and the LTTE has played a big role in
that agenda. They thought that we will never be able to defeat the LTTE,
and thus we would forever remain in a state of instability. People like
the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, David
Miliband want an unstable, war torn and weak Sri Lanka. But now they have
realised that the LTTE is defeated, and can no longer be used as a pawn in
their agenda. So they are very upset about it. The war has been the
biggest problem we have been facing, and it is the main obstacle in our
path to development. But now finally we have a chance to put an end to
this and stand on our own. Many Western countries do not like this, and
that’s why they are still trying to save the LTTE leaders so that they
can use them later (Full
report in Nation).

HILLARY CLINTON’S
DUPLICITY EXPOSED - By Rajendra Alwis, Ottawa
Recently, referring to the unfolding political turmoil in Pakistan, U.S.
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton says Pakistan’s inability to beat
the Taliban poses “a mortal threat to the security and safety of our
country and world”. However, on the selfsame theme of terrorism, Hillary
Clinton mysteriously changes her stance when commenting on Taliban’s
twin brother LTTE. In this case she invariably comes out with misleading
and misty interpretations. Let me quote her in this context, “I think
the Sri Lankan government knows that the entire world is very disappointed
that in its efforts to end what it sees as 25 years of conflict, it is
causing such untold suffering”. The State Secretary’s disappointment
is that the Sri Lankan government is not agreeing for a ceasefire with the
LTTE (for the seventh time) and not inviting them to the negotiating
table. If this is your genuine concern why don’t you request the
Pakistan Prime Minister to extend the same generosity to Taliban as well?
(Full report in LankaWeb).

Che Guevara the
revolutionary and Prabhakaran the brutal terrorist
- Dr.P.A.Samaraweera, Australia Che Guevara, was an Argentinian Marxist
Revolutionary. As a medical student, during his travels in Latin America
he was transformed by poverty and economic inequality he had witnessed. In
1956, he joined Fidel Castro and invaded Cuba over-throwing the US backed
Cuban dictator Batista. He served as Minister of Industry under Fidel
Castro. He was a politician, author, physician, military strategist,
guerilla leader and social reformist invoking class struggles. In his
writings he had elaborated that through his travels in Latin America he
had come in close contact with poverty, hunger and disease. He cites these
examples which made him exit medicine to help these people in the
political arena of armed struggle. In 1960, The Time Magazine, named him
one of the 100 most influential people of the 20 century. A photograph of
him taken by Alberto Korda on March 5 1960 , titled , Guerrillero Heroico
was declared the, “most famous photograph in the world”. By 1965, Che
Guevara was regarded as the second in power to Fidel Castro and The Time
Magazine dubbed him as “Castro’s brain”. Mid 1965 he left Cuba to
incite revolutions in Congo and later in Bolivia. He had confidence in
Bolivia as the Bolivian army was poorly trained and ill-equipped. But he
was unaware that the US had sent a team of the CIA’s Special Activities
Division Commandos and Army Special Forces to Bolivia to hunt him. On
October 7th 1967 when his encampment was surrounded he knew there was no
escape as the expected reinforcements had not arrived. Che Guevara’s
crime was that he was fighting against a dictator installed by the US . (Full
report in LankaWeb).

Tamil protest clashes
briefly with police - Tamil protesters briefly
clashed with police during a demonstration on University Avenue Friday
evening, after a barricade between them and a chain of officers collapsed
under pressure. The evening-long Tamil demonstration erupted when
protesters broke down a police barrier in an effort to take over
University Ave., near Toronto’s U.S. Consulate. A chain of armed police
officers were able to keep the crowd from spilling onto the roadway and
replaced the barrier. Friday’s demonstration was targeted toward the
Consulate, as Toronto’s Tamil community appealed to U.S. President
Barack Obama to intervene in the civil war in Sri Lanka, and brought
attention to the atrocities subjected upon the country’s Tamil minority.
An estimated 2,000 protesters later staged a “rolling protest,”
blocking many of the city’s busiest downtown streets by marching under
the watch of tactical officers. The crowd marched north on University
Ave., before turning east on Dundas St. and proceeding to Yonge St., where
they staged a sit-in. The majority of the crowd then returned to the U.S.
Consulate by marching west along Queen St. (Full
report in National Post).

Worshippers blame Toronto
temple arson on Tamil Tiger supporters - The
civil war in Sri Lanka is being linked to a fire — that investigators
are calling arson — early Saturday in Toronto. It happened at the Maha
Vihara Buddhist Meditation Centre in the city's east end frequented by
worshippers of Sinhalese descent, who pointed the finger at local
supporters of the Tamil Tigers. "The door is damaged and the floor is
damaged and the curio cabinet is damaged ... and then the spirit is
damaged, that's the most important thing," temple vice-president
Bandara Senaviratna told CBC News. The smell of smoke lingered in the air
and yellow police tape surrounded the wooden temple Saturday afternoon.
The remnants of the fire included the charred base of a cabinet holding
religious artifacts sitting on the grass. Investigators said someone broke
into the temple around 4:30 Saturday morning, spread an accelerant on the
floor and the outside walls and lit the fire. Crews extinguished it before
it could spread to an adjacent building where three resident monks were
sleeping (Full
report in CBA in Canada).

TORTURE CHAMBER
SUPERVISED BY PRABHAKARAN FOUND - MULLAITTIVU:
ONE MORE heavily-fortified LTTE torture-chamber cum prison complex, run
inside a three-room house behind the MULLAIVAIKKAL (VELLAMULLAVAIKKAL)
sub-post office, was among the latest finds made by heroic 58 Division
troops on Saturday (16) as they moved further in. Barbarism of ruthless
Tiger terrorism, that has meted out inhuman punishments to all those who
opposed to Tigers or defied LTTE directives was once again proved with the
tracing of this “concentration” camp or the torture chamber where
Tiger leadership has reportedly detained all those who blamed him or
criticized Tiger hierarchy. The house with a wide sitting room, plus three
spacious rooms has been protected closely by bunkers on the orders of the
LTTE supremo, PRABHAKARAN, according to information given to the troops by
escapees. All anti-LTTE men and women had been kept imprisoned and tightly
tethered to heavy metal chains, generally used for elephants. (see photos)
Those metal prison cages of about 10-12 ft in height have been designed
for padlocking, and another portion of the chamber appeared to have been
used for beating and torturing. Unconfirmed reports had told the troops
that PRABHAKARAN himself has watched his enemies under punishment. Walls
around that portion have been splashed with blood stains and pieces of
hair of those who would have been subjected to LTTE torture. Above one of
those metal cells was a spread barbed-wire that ran until up to the roof
of the house (Full
report in Sri Lanka Army).

VAIKO AND MOST LTTE
SUPPORTERS IN TAMIL NADU ARE BADLY DEFEATED WHILE JAYALAITHA RECEIVES
STUNNING BLOW BY WINNING ONLY 9 SEATS - By
Walter JayawardhanaThe Indian side kick of Velupillai Prabhakaran and the
leader of the Marumalarachi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam V. Gopalaswamy alias
Vaiko has been badly defeated by more than 50,000 votes in his Tamil Nadu
constituency, the latest Lok Sabha polls results show. Better known
as Vaiko, the maverick politician, who is a non-Tamil , has taken
extremist Tamil positions in his demagoguery and has made the division of
Sri Lanka one of the main principles of his party. Vaiko was defeated
by Manik Tagore, a Congress party candidate in the Virudhunagar
constituency. His party also showed poor result by winning a solitary seat
in the whole election. Vaiko and all pro-LTTE elements in the Tamil
Nadu politics were trounced by the voters as if by karma in a dramatic
coincidence with the probable demise of Velupillai Prabhakaran and
military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Sri
Lanka Army announced after thirty years the complete coast of the island
nation has been liberated from the terrorist group (Read
full report).

UN should defend its
Member Nations, not accuse Member Nations for defending itself against its
enemies - By Charles.S.Perera - UN stands for
United Nations. UNHRC stands for United Nations Human Rights Commission.
The Human Rights Commission of the United Nations should not be there to
accuse a Nation for violation of human rights, but to defend the Nations
against violations of Human Rights by groups that had infiltrated into its
territory. That is to say if human rights of a group or an individual has
been violated, the Nation or the Country involved should not be accused
for such violations, but reasons for such violations should be
investigated and remove the causes that resulted in human rights
violations. But condemning the country for such violation should not be
the role of the UN. Because the UN stands for all Nations, and the UN is
made up of different Nations. Each Nation is independent and has a right
not to be interfered into its internal affairs. In Sri Lanka for instance
a group of terrorist had created quite a mayhem marring its peaceful
existence. Murdering its civilians, assassinating its officers of the
security forces, Ministers, Presidents, and intellectual. The government
despite all those wilful murders and assassinations made many efforts to
come to a negotiated peace settlement with the terrorists, and failing in
all such efforts resorted to a military operation to end terrorism. Sri
Lanka was neither helped by any other Member States of the UN in its
military operations against the terrorist, nor did any of the Member
states of the UN intervened to interact with the terrorists to dissuade
them from continuing their terrorist activities (Full
report in LankaWeb).

Love notes from Serendib
: War crimes: the professionals, minnows and the innocent -
By Malinda Seneviratne - It is said that the Tories in Britain are really
luxurious country gentlemen and that those in the ruling Labour party are
petty chiselers willing to put anything on the public tab. Well, David
Miliband, Britain’s Foreign Minister certainly fits the bill. He wanted
the public to pay his a pram worth 199 pounds and ‘baby essentials’
worth 80. He even submitted claims for garden maintenance outside of the
rules pertaining to such things. A chiseler, if ever there was one. He has
been described as being "more immature than he looks" as being
"rude, stupid and politically and diplomatically naïve, desperate to
prove he is a big player" and as "an embarrassment strutting the
world stage". Being a Sri Lankan and as such being at the receiving
end of Miliband’s ways, I can concur with these sentiments. The man is
ill-informed, intellectually slow and arrogant to the core. In all
fairness, I think we should understand that the man has no choice. He is
after all a politician and as such his political future is dependent on
the sentiments of his electorate. This is why he is ready willing to
scream ‘genocide’ when Tamilnet, the website of the banned terrorist
outfit, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam claims that the Sri Lankan army
had fired shells into areas where the LTTE leaders are/were holed up. No
cross-checking. No substantiation of claim. He is contracted as per
political realities on the ground (in the UK and not in the North Eastern
corner of Sri Lanka) to repeat and amplify the tamilnet claim (Full
report in Asian Tribune).

Dignity cannot be compromised - By
Malinda Seneviratne - Nations are not aggregates of people; they are
not coterminous with populations sharing a geographical space. Nations are
made of people. They are made of histories. They can reference heritage(s),
language, customs, rituals, ways of being, and particularities of
landscape. They are made of solidarities, of commonalities and other
things gelled together by a necessarily undefined thing called ‘dignity’.
Where this sense of collective being, of self-affirmation and celebration
is absent, nations become dependencies sans spirit, sans will to innovate,
sans resolve to overcome adversity. They decline. Nations that are endowed
with dignity can of course be subjugated, colonized, plundered and
enslaved, but they will still retain the seeds of recovery, renewal and
ultimate liberation from bondage whichever form it may take, physical,
cultural or ideological (Full
report in Sri Lanka Guardian).

Saturday,
16 May 2009

Tamil Tigers
defeated militarily: Sri Lanka president - The
president of Sri Lanka declared on Saturday that the island's separatist
Tamil Tiger rebels have been "defeated militarily," his office
said. "I am proud to announce... that my government with the total
commitment of our armed forces, has in an unprecedented humanitarian
operation, finally defeated the LTTE militarily," he said in a speech
to a G11 summit in Jordan, the text of which was released by his office.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been fighting for an
independent homeland on the ethnic Sinhalese-majority island since the
1970's (Times
of India).

Last call from Prabakaran
to KP - A source linked to an Italian
intelligence firm said that LTTE leader Vslupillai Prabakaran has talked
to his right arm associate Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, the LTTE’s
international arms dealer, over a satellite phone. The phone call was made
around 2 AM on May 07 from Sri Lanka to Malaysia, says the intelligence
bureau that is monitoring the communication of the international terrorist
organizations. The LTTE leader asked KP to assume the leadership of the
LTTE and lead the struggle following any circumstance within the coming
few days. He has urged KP to work with the people mentioned in an email he
has sent. Prabakaran has asked to carry on the struggle since the
conditions are good for the Ealam struggle internationally, the
Intelligence bureau. The voice of the LTTE leader was feeble because he
might have been ill or angry, said the bureau adding that the voice
matching software has proved that the voice was Prabakaran’s. Political
observers say that Prabakaran’s phone call can be a crucial one since
the LTTE leaders were sending their wives and families to Army-held areas
since the following May 15
(Full report in Lanka e-News).

When I return my country
is free from LTTE terrorism- President at G-11 -
Saturday, 16 May 2009 Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing
the G-11 Summit in Dead Sea,Jordon today proudly announced that he would
be returning to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric
acts of LTTE terrorism and added that such freedom came to his country
after 30 long years."The defeat of the LTTE on the ground heralds a
new era in Sri Lanka", the President jubilantly added. The Sri Lankan
President told the distinguished audience - "My government's precise
and well coordinated humanitarian operation has so far succeeded in
rescuing over 210,000 civilians who were being used as human shields by
the LTTE". He pointed out that many in the world believed that the
LTTE was invincible,but, he(the President) and his government with the
total commitment of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces,had in an unprecedented
humanitarian operation, finally defeated the LTTE militarily. Following is
the full text of the President's address: (Sri
Lanka Govt Website).

LTTE prepares for mass
suicide; key terror leaders trapped - LTTE
terrorists are preparing for a mass suicide after being effectively
cut-off of escape routes, both land and sea and now encircled in a mere
3.5sq.km of land West of Vellamullivaikkal, Wanni military sources said
citing intercepted LTTE communication. According to defence observers, the
LTTE senior ranks are expecting to prolong its imminent defeat resorting
to such futile terror tactics using civilian hostages, new recruits and
black tigers as weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). "The terrorists
have no way to go and the only way out is to surrender with the security
forces or to be crushed in the military advance" a military official
said. Terrorists are blowing off large explosive and ammunition dumps also
using stocks of white phosphorous with improvised barrel bombs to create
large destruction within the hostage makeshift camps. Meanwhile, an LTTE
attempt to ram an explosive laden bus into the 58 Division forward
defences failed with the bus exploding prematurely. No damages were caused
to troops military said adding that at least 10 terrorists were killed due
to the explosion. During initial interrogations conducted, Soosai's wife
had told with the Navy that Soosai along with LTTE leader Prabhakaran,
Pottu Amman and some other key terrorists as still holed up in the small
area at Vellamullivaikal (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Top LTTE leaders may
commit 'mass suicide': Sri Lanka - With
the Sri Lankan forces cutting off all their escape routes, the top Tamil
Tigers leadership, including its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, may be
preparing to commit "mass suicide", the defence ministry said
today. The Tigers are "preparing for a mass suicide after forces cut
off their sea as well as land escape routes and cornered them in a mere
3.5 sq km area", a military statement said. The reports of the LTTE
leadership resorting to self destruction came as a government spokesman
said that army was on the brink of capturing all the rebel-held areas.
"Within hours, we expect the news of end of fighting," state
television reporters, who have been allowed to move with the frontline
troops, reported. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is on a trip
to Jordon, is cutting short his visit and returning here where he may make
a televised announcement late tonight. The fast paced development came as
Sri Lankan forces today captured last strip of coastline held by the
rebels virtually cutting off any sea escape routes. Two army divisions
advancing on parallel fronts on the island's northeastern coastline linked
up at the village of Vellamullivaikkal early today cutting off any sea
escape route of the Tigers, military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said
(PTI).

An explosion occurred in
an LTTE high security bunker in Safety Zone -
Security sources say that an explosion has occurred in a high security
bunker in which a number of senior LTTE leaders believed to have hidden.
The bunker is totally destroyed due to this explosion. Security forces
suspect that all top leaders of the LTTE in the bunker have been killed
(SLBC).

LTTE is ready for mass
suicide attempt - LTTE terrorists are preparing
for a mass suicide after being effectively cut-off of escape routes, both
land and sea and now encircled in a mere 3.5sq.km of land West of
Vellamullivaikkal. Citing intercepted LTTE communication, Wanni military
sources said the LTTE senior ranks are expecting to prolong its imminent
defeat resorting to such futile terror tactics using civilian hostages,
new recruits and black tigers as weapons of mass destruction. A military
official said the terrorists have no way to go and the only way out is to
surrender with the security forces or to be crushed in the military
advance. Terrorists are blowing off large explosive and ammunition dumps
also using stocks of white phosphorous with improvised barrel bombs to
create large destruction within the hostage makeshift camps. Meanwhile, an
LTTE attempt to ram an explosive laden bus into the 58 Division forward
defences failed with the bus exploding prematurely. No damages were caused
to troops military said adding that at least 10 terrorists were killed due
to the explosion. During initial interrogations conducted, Soosai's wife
had told with the Navy that Soosai along with LTTE leader Prabhakaran,
Pottu Amman and some other key terrorists as still holed up in the small
area at Vellamullivaikal (SLBC).

Signs of giving up
and final hours !!!

Sea
Tiger chief Soosai's family found among fleeing IDPs

PRABHAKARAN AND CLOSE
COMRADES WERE CONSIDERING MASS SUICIDE DURING THE AFTERNOON OF SATURDAY
MAY 16, DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS - By Walter
Jayawardhana - At the time Soosai’s family was interrogated Velupillai
Prabhakaran ,Pottu Amman and Soosai himself were still holed up in the
same area, and considering mass suicide , the Ministry of Defence said.
The statement dated May 16 2009 2.39 p.m. Sri Lanka time said, “During
initial interrogations conducted, Soosai's wife had told the Navy that
Soosai along with LTTE leader Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and some other key
terrorists as still holed up in the small area at Vellamullivaikal.”
When Soosai’s immediate family were among 11 civilians fleeing in a boat
the military made it an opportunity to interrogate Soosai’s wife about
the whereabouts of the LTTE leadership. Based on intercepted LTTE military
radio communication the Ministry of Defence said , “LTTE terrorists are
preparing for a mass suicide after being effectively cut-off of escape
routes, both land and sea and now encircled in a mere 3.5sq.km of land
West of Vellamullivaikkal, Wanni military sources said citing intercepted
LTTE communication. “Based on reports coming from the battlefield, the
Ministry of Defence further stated, “According to defence observers, the
LTTE senior ranks are expecting to prolong its imminent defeat resorting
to such futile terror tactics using civilian hostages, new recruits and
black tigers as weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). "The terrorists
have no way to go and the only way out is to surrender with the security
forces or to be crushed in the military advance" a military official
said. Terrorists are blowing off large explosive and ammunition dumps also
using stocks of white phosphorous with improvised barrel bombs to create
large destruction within the hostage makeshift camps. “Meanwhile, an
LTTE attempt to ram an explosive laden bus into the 58 Division forward
defences failed with the bus exploding prematurely. No damages were caused
to troops military said adding that at least 10 terrorists were killed due
to the explosion.” (EOM).

Sornam, Shashi Master
killed, Prabhakaran still trapped - Senior LTTE
leaders Sornam and Shashi Master are believed killed in fierce fighting
today (May 16), reports the state media. V. Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and
some other Tiger toprungers are still trapped within the uncleared area,
it further adds (Ada
Derana).

Tiger supporters set fire
to Toronto Mahavihara - Toronto Mahavihara
inScarborough has been set on fire by suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) supporters a short while ago, say reports (Ada
Derana).

President says to world
leaders that terrorism in Sri Lanka had been crushed -
President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the G11 Summit in Dead Sea, Jordan
a shortwhile ago said," he will return to Sri Lanka as a leader of a
nation that vanquished terrorism". The President told the
distinguished audience of leaders from many nations that terrorism had
been crushed in Sri Lanka and he would return to his motherland as a
leader of a nation that crushed terrorism (SLBC).

Humanitarian
operations continue to free Tamil civilians from the "Human
Shield of Prabhakaran" and to end the war, despite repeated
objections from arms manufacturing Western countries who needs
battle fields anywhere in the world to sell their weapons.

Prabhakaran
plans to massacre a very large number of Tamil civilians and then blame
the Sri Lanka Government before he ......

Prabhakaran
will do any dirty thing for survival, See what he did to those Tamil
civilians trying to escape from his "Human Shield (Click
here).

The end of the War, the
beginning of Peace - By. Sunil J. Wimalawansa
- Sri Lanka is one of Asia’s oldest democracies. Over the past
2,000 years, there had been multiple invasions into Sri Lanka from
neighboring India. As with the current reign of Tamil Tigers (LTTE)
terror, these prior invasions were all successfully overcome by brave Sri
Lankans. The LTTE was one of the world's most violent and disruptive
terrorist outfits. With careful, meticulous planning and innovative
counter-insurgency tactics, the Sri Lankan armed forces systematically
destroyed the LTTE infrastructure and terrorism. The thirty-year spell of
carnage created by the LTTE is finally over (Full
report in Sri Lanka Guardian).

LTTE allies face defeat
in Tamil Nadu - Pro-LTTE AIADMK leader J.
Jayalalitha and her allies in the MDMK and PMK faced defeat at the Lok
Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, despite a series of aggressive political
stunts displayed on the Sri Lankan issue. With the release of the
finalized election results today (May 16), the DMK finished victorious
claiming a majority of 39 seats at Tamil Nadu. "The People of Tamil
Nadu have given a clear mandate and this shows that the Sri Lankan issue
has failed to sway voters in the state", the DMK leader Dayanidhi
Maran was quoted as saying. Earlier, Jayalalitha threatened to carve out a
utopian 'eelam' state in Sri Lanka if her coalition won most seats in
Tamil Nadu (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Tamil Tiger Battle 'Over
In Two Hours' - The director general of the
media centre for national security in Sri Lanka - Lakhsman Hulugalle - has
just gone on air to say he expects the battle will be over in 'the next
two hours' (Sky
News).

Prabha to commit suicide
- Prabhakaran and a few of his cohorts are now
completely surrounded and are expected to commit suicide within the next
24hrs, thus ending a 30 year-old bloody conflict once and for all. There
is no heavy fighting at this moment as regular troops engage in clearing
operations removing civilians from the area. The LTTE has given up the
fight! President Mahinda Rajapakse is expected to make a speech on Sunday
afternoon or Monday morning to declare the victory. He is expected to land
tomorrow morning. Middle-level LTTE leaders are surrendering in large
numbers. High profile leaders like Poddu, Soosei, Bhanu, Rathnam etc are
still alive with their leader and have surrounded themselves with several
hundred civilians. They are expected to blow themselves up. The Army
expects the civilians to escape before this suicide. Among those who
surrendered today was the wife of LTTE Political Wing Leader Thamil Selvan.
She was caught with her new lover while escaping from the LTTE. The Army
has now withdrawn the cream of its fighting units. Yesterday's operation
to rescue civilians was conducted primarily by fresh Special Forces
recruits from 4 SF who drew a cable and inflated tyre tubes to save
trapped civilians crossing the lagoon/sea (Full
report in Sri Lanka Guardian)..

President vows war over
by morning - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers are
"slowly giving up" their fight against advancing government
troops, the island's military said yesterday, as the country's President
vowed to end the three decades war by tomorrow morning. The military said
the rebels were squeezed on to a strip of territory with an army division
advancing on them from the north and another from the south. The divisions
were fewer than two kilometres apart. "They are slowly giving up.
They are blowing up whatever arms and ammunition they have,"
Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said of the remnants of the once-powerful
separatist Tamil Tiger army. A military spokesman said about 10,000
civilians had managed to flee to government areas yesterday, and that
there was now "hardly anybody left" in the rebel zone on the
northeast coast. The navy said it had also captured the family of a top
rebel commander -- Sea Tiger chief Colonel Soosai -- as they tried to
escape by boat. But there was no sign of rebel chief Velupillai
Prabhakaran. President Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed that "all territory
will be freed from Tiger control" by tomorrow morning (Full
report in National Post).

End of the road for LTTE,
many cadres throw weapons into lagoon - A large
number of Tiger cadres including more than 50 child soldiers were among
the civilians who crossed over to government controlled areas this
morning, says our correspondent near Karayamullivaikkal in Mullaitivu.
Some were observed throwing their weapons into the lagoon and joining the
civilians, our correspondent says. Those who had already entered military
controlled areas tender their Postal Identity Cards and say that their
hair had been cropped by the LTTE to make identification easier. Most say
that they are disgruntled with the Tiger organization as they had been
treated very badly (Full
report in Ada Derana).

Nearly 200,000 civilians rescued so far -
The security forces have so far rescued nearly 200,000 civilians held
hostage by the LTTE. Around 9,500 civilians were liberated from the
terrorists yesterday alone. The Media Centre for National Security says
soldiers of the 53rd, 58th and 59th divisions rescued these civilians who
were trapped in the new safety zone. The troops are continuing with their
rescue operations. The Media Centre says the security forces are doing
best to provide maximum facilities to these civilians (SLBC).

Soosai, Pottu and Swarnam
in NFZ but no sign of Prabhakaran - Brig. Shavendra Silva -
News of the kind the whole Sri Lankan nation has been expecting for
sometime is most likely to break out within the next 48 hours from the No
Fire Zone, if not much earlier and with that probably most of the ground
operations are likely to come to an end. said Brigade Commander of the 58
Division Brigadier Shavendra Silva in an interview with the Sri Lanka
Guardian. One of the heroes of the war against terrorism and also in the
rescue of 250,000 civilians held as human shield by the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam also said that three key leaders of this ruthless terror
outfit have been engaged in attacking the security forces. They are Pottu
Amman, Swarnam and Soosai. They are still entrenched in the No Fire Zone.
“We have heard their voices through their communication system but we
are in no position now to confirm whether Prabhakaran is inside with them
or somewhere else,” added Brigadier Shavendra Silva. In answer to our
query, the brigadier said the Tigers are still in possession of two or
three heavy weapons but have lost almost all their main weapons and even
the manpower has gone down very badly. While many of the cadres perished
on the frontlines, a number of them have also fled from the LTTE and
surrendered to the Armed Forces (Sri
Lanka Guardian).

Troops are determined to
liberate every single civilian held by the LTTE -
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara says the ongoing fight
against the LTTE by the Sri Lankan security forces will go down to the
chronology of wars in the world. The LTTE who controlled more than 20
percent of land in the country for more than 3 decades have now been
confined to a small area and are now on the verge of total elimination.
Participating in the Subharathi programme of the SLBC this morning, the
Brigadier said the military power of the LTTE has come to an end. He also
said the government’s intention is to liberate every single civilian
trapped in the small area held by LTTE (SLBC).

Pro-LTTE operatives attack Netherlands Sri Lankan
Embassy for the second time - Pro-LTTE
operatives have attacked the Sri Lankan Embassy in Hague in Netherlands
for the second time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is a pity
that the Embassy came under attack for the second time despite its request
to strengthen the security in the premises after the first attack on last
Wednesday. The Ministry also condemned the attack saying that
international terror network of the LTTE is still intact even if the
European Union has banned the LTTE as a terrorist outfit. The Foreign
Ministry pointed out that against this backdrop, foreign countries should
pay extra attention regarding security of Sri Lankan missions in their
soils (SLBC).

P’kran and Pottu
trapped, Soosai’s wife reveals - Soosai’s
family captured with gold and cash - The Navy yesterday arrested the
family of sea tiger leader Soosai and several other LTTE leaders of the
Tiger intelligence wing, while they were trying flee the country in a
boat. Navy Spokesman D. K. P. Dassanayake told The Island that on
interrogation Soosai’s wife had told the Navy that Soosai along with
LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and some other key LTTE cadres were
still holed up in the small area in the No Fire Zone. "Our officers
recovered Rs. 575,000 cash and two and half kilos of gold jewellery in the
possession of Soosai’s wife," Dassanayake said. Those arrested had
been moved to the Trincomalee Naval Base and were being interrogated, he
said. She had also admitted to the Navy interrogators that she was a woman
sea tiger leader. In the boat in which Soosai’s family fled there had
been 11 persons. Five of them were members of the sea tiger leader’s
family. The suspects identified were Soosai’s wife Sathyadevi,
17-year-old daughter Madhi and 16-year-old son Suresh. Among others was
his sister-in-law (Full
report in Lanka Times).

Media Release of SLUNA -
Media Conference on May 14, 2009 at the Radisson Admiral Hotel,
Toronto - We are deeply concerned about the
current developments both in Canada our adopted homeland, and Sri Lanka
which is our motherland, and have decided to call this news conference on
the theme ‘ Save Canada From Terrorism – Stop Meddling In Sri Lanka’
to deal with both areas which are receiving a high degree of public
attention. We wish to particularly confine ourselves with the ugly
head of Tamil Tiger terrorism which is openly confronting the cardinal
rule of respect for the laws of this land by manipulating the pro-Tamil
Tiger diaspora to overstep the limits prescribed by the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, by blatantly trampling on the rights of their fellow
citizens in their attempt to gain total attention for their political
goals in another sovereign country which has friendly ties to Canada. We
are appalled by the violent and unlawful means adopted by this diaspora
which supports a banned terrorist group, in demanding that their agenda be
adopted by the legislators of this country forthwith, notwithstanding
Canada’s own issues and agenda concerning the weakened economic future
of a very large segment of her population. As Canadians of Sri
Lankan origin belonging to all of Sri Lanka’s diverse communities, we
find ourselves becoming the target of a hate campaign orchestrated by the
pro-Tamil Tiger diaspora, which unfortunately has trickled down even to
children of school going age, as they are being constantly fed by
pro-Tiger propaganda through a large mix of media controlled by the Tamil
Tiger terrorists. Even their cultural events are full of hero worship of
Tiger cadres who have blown themselves up or committed brutal acts of
violence for their cause of a mono-ethnic separate state called “Eelam”
to be carved out of Sri Lanka, who are regarded as martyrs (Read
full Media Release).

Lankan mission in The
Hague attacked again - LTTE supporters attacked
the Sri Lanka embassy at The Haguein the Netherlandsfor the second time in
one week. A petrol bomb was hurled at the embassy building (Ada
Derana).

Sri Lanka's coast free of
terror; Army 58 Div links up with the 59 Div -
Sri Lankan soldiers of Army 58 Division have linked up with the 59
Division soldiers freeing the last remaining coastal stretch under LTTE
clutches. The link up marks the total liberation of the Island's coastline
from three decades of terror. According to the battlefield reports,
infantrymen of Army 58 Division completed their three-day southbound march
along the coast this morning (May 16) when they linked up with their
comrades of 59 Division on the Mullaittivu frontage (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

ESCAPEES FLEE FROM “LIBERATORS”
& FLOAT ON TYRE TUBES - AN ESTIMATED crowd
of 3719 civilians, suffering under the jackboot of the terrorist leader,
PRABHAKARAN in the rapidly shrinking New Safety Zone, stood up firmly and
made use of the newly opened up ‘escape route’ via NANTHI KADAL lagoon
in the past 24 hours, braving LTTE’s indiscriminate fire in VADDUVAKKAL
area as those civilians commenced fleeing. Those trapped civilians got
hold of anything available at hand to float on water, including inflated
tyre-tubes, rafts, ropes, small boats, locally-made ‘Theppam’, etc,
and managed to cross the lagoon en masse, despite rains of LTTE bullets,
meant to frighten, injure and prevent the escapees from deserting Tigers.
Though some of these photos in this story could be somewhat disturbing,
and a disgrace to humanity, www.army.lk wanted to tell the world how the
LTTE, contrary to what was being transmitted by them distorting the truth,
were treating their own people while forcibly holding them as ‘human
shields’ in the New Safe Zone (Full
report in Sri Lanka Army).

Sri Lankan 'refugees' in
Aceh claim to be LTTE - The 55 Sri Lankans
stranded in Aceh waters on Thursday (May 14) have claimed to be members of
the internationally proscribed terrorist outfit LTTE, fleeing in fear of
post-war trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity to seek
political asylum in Australia. According to Jakarta Globe, a local of the
Alue Bilie village in Darul Makmur subdistrict, Nagan Raya district, on
Friday(15), have confirmed that some of the 'refugees', have confessed
that they were LTTE combatants. Indonesians security officials are
conducting further investigations (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Troops capture last
section of coastal line in Mullaittivu - The
security forces have confined the LTTE to a small land area in the
Mullaittivu. A senior military officer speaking to the SLBC said the
troops have set a new defence line surrounding this area. The 58th and
59th divisions of the Army linked up this morning and sealed off the LTTE
from accessing the sea. The link up marks the total liberation of the
Island's coastline from three decades of terror. Soldiers of the 11th
Infantry commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kithsiri Ekanayake and 11th
Gemunu Watch recorded this victorious achievement. Search operations in
the area continue (SLBC).

Sri Lanka captures last
stretch of rebel-held coast - The Sri Lankan
security forces Saturday took the final strip of coast held by Tamil
Tigers during the final phase of their offensive to defeat the guerrillas,
a military official said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have
now been driven back to an area of less than one sq km in the northeast, a
military spokesman said, and for the first time in the conflict the rebels
have no access to the sea. The military claimed that senior LTTE leaders,
including its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, remained in the rebel-held
area. Security forces advancing from different directions along the coast
linked up at Kariyalamullaivaikkal village, 395 km northeast of Colombo,
the officials said. Meanwhile, civilians trapped in the war zone
continued to flee by wading across a lagoon to enter government-controlled
territory. On Friday, more than 10,000 civilians fled the area, and the
government said it believes a similar number of people remained in there.
The LTTE has been fighting for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's
minority Tamils for the past quarter century. Over 70,000 people have been
killed in the conflict so far (Full
report in NewsTrack India).

Army 58 Div links up with
the 59 Div; Sri Lanka's coastline liberated -
Sri Lankan soldiers of Army 58 Division have linked up with the 59
Division soldiers freeing the last remaining coastal stretch under LTTE
clutches. The link up marks the total liberation of the coastline of the
Island nation (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

The final few hours to
wipe out tiger terrorism and to unite the country are ticking away - The
few crucial hours to unite the country after wiping out tiger terrorism in
the safety zone and liberating the hostasges are now ticking away. Our
correspondent says thousands of civilians trapped in terrorist custody
even by now are arriving in the liberated areas. Army media spokesman
Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara says tiger leader Prabhakaran as well as
others such as Soosai and Pottu Amman are still hiding in the unliberated
areas. The wife of Soosai who was arrested yesterday has also confirmed
this fact . Brigadier Nanayakkara says today will be crucial day for tiger
terrorists. The navy says sum of 600,000 rupees and a stock of gold
jewellery had been in Soosai’s family possession at the time of the
arrest. Naval troops serving Mullaittivu seas today evening captured Sea
Tiger leader, Soosai’s wife, son, daughter, sister-in-law and her son
and seven more Soosai’s relatives aboard a boat while they were trying
to escape. Navy media spokesman Commander D.K.P. Dasanayake says a strong
security net has been deployed by the navy in the Mullaitivu sea belt
preventing any tiger terrorist leader leaving the country. Sri Lankan
soldiers now engaged in the final phase of their humanitarian operation in
the Island's northeast, have liberated the inhabitants of the
Kariyalamullai Tsunami relief village. According to the defence sources,
these inhabitants have sought refuge with the 58 Division soldiers (Full
report in SLBC).

Tamil IDP's are very
grateful to Sri Lanka Army for helping them to escape - British MP -
By Walter Jayawardhana - Speaking among extremely agitated pro-Tamil Tiger
members in the House of Commons, Liberal Democratic MP Malcom Bruce, who
visited Sri Lanka IDP camps last week said the Internally Displaced people
in the camps are very grateful to the Sri Lanka Army for giving them the
opportunity escape. Malcom Bruce MP said, "I can and should report
what people said. They were grateful to the Sri Lankan army for giving
them the opportunity to escape and were glad to be out of the conflict
zone. In response to direct questions, they said they had not left earlier
because the LTTE had basically said, "If you try to leave, you will
be shot." They had evidence of people who had tried and who had been
shot at. That is an objective fact." The Member of Parliament further
added that many of those people had escaped from the conflict zone at the
point at which the Sri Lankan army had breached the bund that had been
built around it. Something like 165,000 people were reputed to have walked
out and been taken into the camps, the parliamentarian said repudiating
some of the propaganda spread in London about the Internally Displace
People (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

An Appeal to Tamil
Diaspora - By Dr. Raju Selva - In my
previous letters, I have told that I am ashamed to call myself a Tamil as
LTTE brought more misery and humiliation to the Tamils than any good,
forget about the promised homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka. I strongly
believe the Tamil Diaspora (whom I am one of them but I
disassociated myself from supporting LTTE long time ago) is as guilty as
LTTE forfor this predicament for having supported LTTE for the last 25
years. Last few weeks, the world noticed the Tamil Diaspora shouting and
screaming down the streets in big cities in the western block to save
Prabha and his killing machine but never demanded Prabhakaran to release
the innocent Tamil civilians held as human shield by LTTE. The Tamil
Diaspora was least concerned of the Tamil civilians held as hostage by
LTTE. The colossal amount of money collected willingly and forcibly by the
Tamil Diaspora to fatten the LTTE war chest hoping for a mythical Eelam
has almost vanished into thin air now. LTTE is now cornered into a less
than 1sq km and their fighting hard core cadre has almost depleted to a
small number of around 500 fighters. To continue the Eelam war, LTTE needs
more people to fight. LTTE is not short of their supporters among the
Tamil Diaspora. Over the past few weeks, the world noticed thousands
of Tamil men, women, youths, children and even infants
gathered around the big cities like London, Torronto, Ottawa, Paris,
Melbourne, Sydney, Geneva, Oslo in thousands taking part in rallies,
demonstrations against the Sri Lankan Government’s war against the
LTTE. The most salient feature among the demonstrators was that there were
many second and third generation of Tamil youths both men and women
probably some of them would not have ever been to Sri Lanka. They would
have joined the demonstrations due to peer pressure from their parents. It
is sad to see that the new generation of Tamils have been completely
misled by their peers. This is crucial time for LTTE and the dying
LTTE needs some oxygen with increased fighting cadres. LTTE needs support
of the Tamil Diaspora in manpower. The Tamil Diaspora who was screaming
down the big cities can help LTTE in this dire moment. What the
parents of the Tamil Diaspora who were screaming down the streets
should do now is to dispatch their young sons and daughters from
their cosy homes and good schools to the jungles of Mullatihivu
immediately (even underage does not matter as LTTE is immune to age
barriers) to fight the Sri Lankan armed forces to save Prabhakaran. It is
now or never (Read
full report in SPUR).

The
International Tamil Terrorists Diaspora Terrorising the Big Cities - By
Malin Abeyatunge, Melbourne, Australia - The
Tamil Diaspora who are activists and apologists of LTTE in USA, UK,
Norway, Switzerland, EU countries and Australia have all this time limited
their operations to collecting funds thro dubious fronts, procuring arms
and shipping them to LTTE under dubious means and also thro some LTTE
apologist embassies in the European hemisphere, smuggling of human cargo
and narcotics for easy money to fund the LTTE terrorist group, insurance
and credit t scams, buying and influencing western politicians and
humanitarian groups (every one knows who they are). You name any illegal
activity, they are in it. But over the last three months, we see another
facet of the ferocious Tamil Tigers barking like rabid dogs down the
streets of big cities and capitals in USA, Canada, UK and EU countries
including Norway, Switzerland Austria , Australia etc causing
inconvenience and disturbance to the day to day lives of the people in the
big cities. The peace loving citizens of Toronto, Ottawa, London, Paris
Berlin, Vienna, Sydney, Melbourne are a few cities who bore the blunt of
their non-stop rallies, demonstrations and unruly mob attacks. The
International Tamil Terrorist Diaspora’s (ITTD) latest weapon has been
attacking the Sri Lankan embassies, Buddhist temples and Sinhala
businesses in these countries and following places have been attacked and
damaged over the last two months by the unruly LTTE supported Tamil
Diaspora (not all peace loving Tamil Diaspora belong to this ITTD group). (Full
report in SPUR).

Prabha's last night -
By the time this report is being compiled, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam are preparing for its last attack. A meeting was called a few hours
ago by Soosei who literally handed-over his family to the Navy (appears to
the public as a capture by the Navy) calling on Black Sea Tigers to launch
a series of attacks targeting the 58 and the 59 Divisions. The two
Divisions are expected to link-up shortly thus sealing shut the coastal
zone and completely land locking the Tigers. The 59 Division faced stiff
resistance as they approached the area closest to Prabhakaran's known
location. Tigers shifted much of its attack formations towards the 59,
making it increasingly clear that Prabhakaran was still in this suspected
location. They even launched a series of sea borne suicide attacks
completely decimating, in one occasion, two bunkers killing 15 soldiers (Defence
Wire)

Tamil Tigers 'giving up'
fight - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers are
"slowly giving up" their fight against advancing government
troops, the island's military said Friday as it appeared poised to capture
the last tiny strip of rebel territory. A military spokesman told AFP
around 10,000 civilians had managed to flee to government areas on Friday,
and that there was now "hardly anybody left" in the rebel zone
on the northeast coast. "They are slowly giving up. They are blowing
up whatever arms and ammunition they have," Brigadier Udaya
Nanayakkara said of the remnants of the once-powerful separatist Tamil
Tiger army. The navy said it had captured the family of a top Tamil Tiger
military commander -- Sea Tiger chief Colonel Soosai -- as they tried to
escape by boat. But there was no sign of rebel chief Velupillai
Prabhakaran. President Mahinda Rajapakse also vowed that "all
territory will be freed from Tiger control" by Sunday morning. There
was no immediate word from the rebels, but the pro-Tiger Tamilnet website
said the narrow beach and lagoon area from where the rebels have been
mounting a last stand was engulfed in smoke (Full
report in Asia Alone News).

Civilians desert LTTE:
Final influx massive - A huge influx of
civilians once again started to flow into the military controlled areas as
Security Forces were ready laying siege on the remaining Tiger controlled
areas yesterday whilst ground troops uncovered huge stocks of arms and
ammunition of the LTTE from the areas they captured, military officials
told the Daily News yesterday. As of yesterday evening more than 15,000
civilians have arrived in military controlled areas from Friday morning.
More than 10,000 civilians arrived by evening yesterday in the 53 division
area after ground troops advanced further southward of the
Vellamullivaikkal area whilst more than 1000 civilians arrived in the 59
Division area crossing the Nanthikadal lagoon, military officials added.
“Civilians are arriving in thousands into the 53 Division area along the
A-35 road and troops temporarily suspended their military operations to
facilitate their arrival by yesterday afternoon,” a senior military
official added. According to sources from the battleground, LTTE cadres
have been trapped in a tiny area outside south of Vellamullivaikkal and
explosions were heard continuously from the area giving strong indications
that they were destroying their arms and ammunition to prevent them being
captured by the troops. “The Security Forces once again lay siege on the
LTTE terrain surrounding the remaining Tiger leaders inside as the 58
Division and the 59 Division were poised to marry up in the Mullaitivu sea
front by yesterday evening,” the official added. During their advance
into the Mullaitvu front the 58 Division has recovered the biggest ever
arms and ammunition stock they have ever recovered within a 24 hour
period, a senior military official added (Full
report in Daily News)

Armed forces sacrificed
their lives for country: Gotabhaya - Defence
Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa paying tribute to the war heroes
said that around 21,500 members of the armed forces had sacrificed their
lives protecting the territorial integrity and the unity of the country
during the last three decades. He added that if the country did not go to
war even at this late stage it would have resulted in grave consequences.
He noted that military commanders in the battlefield had told him this.
The Defence Secretary was speaking at a programme for the welfare of the
families of dead war heroes held at the Army Special Forces Head Quarters
at Koholanwela in Matale. The Rana Viru Seva Authority organised the
programme. The Defence Secretary said around 17,000 members of the Armed
Forces and Police had sacrificed their lives between 1980 and 2005. “Between
2005 and now, 3,500 more armed services personnel had to sacrifice their
lives for the country. A large number of service personnel have become
physically disabled, while a considerable number had received grave
injuries. The war that has lasted for about 30 years caused a lot of
destruction to this country but now it has reached a possible end .If our
heroes did not dedicate and sacrifice their lives we would not have been
able to reach an end to this.” “No one can fill the gaps created by
the loss of life. But, as a grateful nation it is a responsibility of all
of us to solve the problems of families of the war heroes. President
Mahinda Rajapaksa is very concerned about that aspect. All the problems of
the war heroes’ families have to be solved. Due to lapses in services,
such families have been compelled to suffer. The services rendered by the
war heroes should not be underestimated,” he added. The Defence
Secretary drew attention to the large number and the types of weapons
recovered from the LTTE in the battle fields. “No one could go to Wanni,
Mannar or Kilinochchi earlier. Although there were so many weaknesses, our
heroes never went back. Because of their courage, the fulfillment of the
long awaited hopes of Sri Lankans will not take long. Our heroes defeated
the efforts to split our country,” he noted. In conclusion, the Defence
Secretary said that there is a project already underway to help the
families of the war heroes. Problems related to salaries, allowances,
housing, education of children, and other welfare activities are some of
those. The Chairman of the Rana Viru Seva Authority Major General Palitha
Fernando, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Indu
Ratnayake, Matale District Secretary Gamini Seneviratne also addressed the
gathering
(Daily Mirror).

Navy captures Sea Tiger
Leader Soosai’s Family Members while attempting to flee disguised as
Refugees in Mullaithivu Seas - Vigilant Naval
troops on close coastal patrol captured a Fibre Glass Dinghy with Sea
Tiger Leader Soosai’ s family members who were desperately attempting to
escape disguised as refugees today (15th of May 2009) around 0300 hrs in
the seas of Mullaithivu. The FGD had eleven (11) persons on board with
Soosai’s Wife Sathyadevi, Daughter Sivanesan Mani Arasu, Son Sivanesan
Sindhu, Sister-in- Law C Thavarasa (58), Elder Brother’s Son Silanbarasa
and a top Sea Tiger Leader Rooban’s Wife N Sivanesan (25). A large sum
of cash amounting to Rs. 575,000/= and a hoard of jewellery weighing
approximately 2 and ½ Kilograms which were being smuggled were also found
in their possession. This shows how luxurious life they had been living
amassing money while subjecting tens of thousands of innocent Tamil
civilians to untold hardships violating all norms of civilized life.The
alert Naval troops deployed in the first defence barrier of the Naval
Cordon which has been imposed in the North-eastern seas had made the swift
move capturing the prized catch. The incident is a clear indication of
LTTE Sea Tigers’ total disarray of defences due to the unrelenting heavy
onslaught being carried out by the SLN against the terror outfit. They
have now shrunk to a point of no-return due to the SLN’s tactical
maneuvers , even being unable to provide protection to their
ever-diminishing top leadership (Sri
Lanka Navy).

Tiger terror’s end
imminent - President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on
Thursday that Sri Lankan Security Forces will be able to wipe out LTTE
terrorists now restricted to a small stretch of land in Mullaitivu and
rescue the balance civilians held under their clutches within the next 48
hours. He said this when he addressed the Sri Lankan expatriate worker
community attached to the Casual Wear Garment Factory in Jordan’s
industrial zone during his visit to Jordan. The President who appreciated
the contribution made by Sri Lankan expatriate workers in the Middle-East
including Jordan to the country’s coffers recalled that he had occasion
to solve many of their problems and cater to their welfare when he held
the Labour Portfolio from 1994 to 2000. At a time when the efforts of the
world economic crisis were being felt by most countries the Sri Lankan
economy had been able to hold its own to a certain extent partly due to
the remittances made by expatriate workers abroad. Explaining the current
situation in the country to the Sri Lankan workers which the President
said they would be eager to know, Rajapaksa said the LTTE did not allow
him even to enjoy the victory of the 2005 Presidential election as they
killed several unarmed soldiers. In spite of such provocations the
Government tried its best to solve the national problem peacefully through
negotiations. Discussions were held in Geneva and Oslo but the LTTE
disrupted them by leaving the negotiation table. The President said
thereafter the LTTE tried to disrupt the livelihood and economy of the
Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim farmer families in the East by closing the Mavil
Aru anicut (Full
report in Daily News).

Navy captures Soosai’s
fleeing family - The Navy captured Sea Tiger
leader Soosai’s family members while they were attempting to escape by
sea in Mullaitivu area during the wee hours of yesterday. Soosai is with
LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, Soosai’s wife has said. Navy
spokesman Captain D.K.P. Dassanayake said the Sea Tiger leader’s wife,
son, daughter and his brother’s wife, daughter and other family members
were attempting to escape from Vellaimullivaikkal. The Fibre Glass Dinghy
had 11 persons including Soosai’s wife Sathyadevi, daughter Sivanesan
Mani Arasu, son Sivanesan Sindhu, sister-in-law C. Thavarasa (58), elder
brother’s son Silanbarasa and top Sea Tiger Leader Rooban’s wife N.
Sivanesan (25). They were captured around 2.00 a.m. by naval troops
monitoring the LTTE movements in the seas off Mullaitivu. Eleven family
members of Soosai were fleeing boarded on a small boat posing as IDPs. The
naval troops identified Soosai’s family members and captured the boat.
“An LTTE Intelligence leader’s family members were among the captured”,
he added. The captured Soosai’s family members boat was towed to
Pulmodai Naval point. An inquiry was started upon their capture (Full
report in Daily News).

Police recover four
suicide jackets in Wellawatte - Suspect leaps to
death; Three more suicide bombers arrested: A 32-year-old LTTE suspect
committed suicide by jumping out of a seven storied building at 37th Lane,
Wellawatte during a raid conducted in Wellawatte on Thursday night at 9.35
p.m. The suspect, Sathish Kumar had been living in Sunflower Court
Wellawatte. Police recovered four suicide jackets and a claymore bomb from
the flat. According to Wella-watte Police three suspects who were arrested
have been identified as suicide bombers. They were undergraduates of the
Moratuwa University including the one who jumped to his death. Additional
Magistrate of Mt.Lavinia, Darshika Wimalasiri conducted the postmortem on
Thursday. She requested police to send a medical report of the dead and an
inclusive report on the incident to Court. The suspect was a resident of
Jaffna and was said to be a student of the Moratuwa University Engineering
Faculty. Police arrested several persons who were associated with Sathish
Kumar and are carrying out further investigations, police spokesman, SSP
Ranjith Gunasekara said. Further investigations are carried out under the
inspection of State Inteligence Service officers and OIC of the Wellawatte
Police Chief Inspector Mangala Dehideniya and CID officers led by Lakmal
Amarasekara (Full
report in Daily News).

10,000 escape from LTTE-held
area: Army - At least 10,000 civilians trapped
in and around the New Safety Zone (NSZ) under the occupation of the LTTE
walked to freedom on Friday as the military after opening an escape route
pushed the Tigers to an enclave of approximately 1.5 sq km along the
Mullaithivu coast. What began as a trickle on Wednesday night turned into
a flood as civilians rushed into the government-controlled territory. The
military is hopeful of overwhelming the remaining cadre and leaders of the
Tigers in 24 to 36 hours and pave way for escape of the remaining
civilians stranded in the war zone. A firm indication that the final hours
of the last of the LTTE leaders and cadre are being played out came from
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, currently on an official tour of Jordan. In a
statement issued from there, Mr. Rajapaksa declared that the military
operations to rescue all the civilians held hostage by the Tigers would be
over in 48 hours. It was indeed a pathetic sight to see mothers holding
their babies running towards the military checkpoints. In a brief
interaction before boarding the government buses that took them to
Omanthai checkpoint, a group of civilians told The Hindu that their life
in the last two months was miserable. “My 45-day-old child was born
inside a bunker. After he has come out of my womb, these are his first
glimpses into the big bad world,” said a mother who had covered the
naked body of the child with a white towel to protect him from the
blistering sun (Full
report in Hindu).

MALCOM BRUCE TELLS
BRITISH PARLIAMENT THAT TAMIL IDP’S ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO SRI LANKA ARMY
FOR HELPING THEM TO ESCAPE - By Walter
Jayawardhana - Speaking among very hostile to Sri Lanka pro-Tamil members
in the House of Commons the Liberal Democratic MP Malcom Bruce , who
visited Sri Lanka IDP camps last week said the Internally Displaced people
in the camps are very grateful to the Sri Lanka Army for giving them the
opportunity escape . Malcom Bruce MP said, “I can and should report what
people said. They were grateful to the Sri Lankan army for giving them the
opportunity to escape and were glad to be out of the conflict zone. In
response to direct questions, they said they had not left earlier because
the LTTE had basically said, “If you try to leave, you will be shot.”
They had evidence of people who had tried and who had been shot at. That
is an objective fact.” The Member of Parliament further added that many
of those people had escaped from the conflict zone at the point at which
the Sri Lankan army had breached the bund that had been built around it.
Something like 165,000 people were reputed to have walked out and been
taken into the camps, the parliamentarian said repudiating some of the
propaganda spread in London about the Internally Displace People. Replying
to an interruption of the usually pro-LTTE Simon Hughes Malcom Bruce said,
“.Of course, that is exactly the question we asked. Some of the supplies
had been getting in. The fundamental problem, and the Under-Secretary may
be able to confirm this, was that the agencies—the UN and others—experienced
bureaucratic delays affecting, for example, what trucks they could take in
and the visa processes. As a result, a variety of equipment and expertise
was poised to go in, but not getting there. It is not true to say that
nothing was there, but it was not arriving fast enough and not on the
scale that was needed.” Answering a question about the LTTE cadres who
have been taken to another building for rehabilitation Bruce said, “I am
grateful for that intervention, because we asked that question. The local
authorities conceded that several thousand people had been taken out of
the camps to a nearby technical college where they were being screened and
put through to rehabilitation. Apart from whatever that implies, the
problem is that people were not given access or information about what was
happening, which was causing more distress. To be honest, some people
understood the motivations, but were not satisfied because they could not
get in touch with others. One woman was in tears: she had a phone number
but no access. The hon. Member for Glasgow, Central tried to facilitate
that communication.” Speaking about some of the problems at the camps
the Member of parliament said, “There were problems because the food was
not arriving at an even speed. There was pressure on water and sanitation.
There were not enough medical supplies. As hon. Members have said, people
were concerned about being separated from their families, not having
access to them and not having information about them; they were fearful of
what was happening to them. Clearly, we impressed on the Sri Lankan
authorities the need to address those issues, again in good faith, if they
were honestly claiming to deliver a safe environment before allowing
people to return to their own areas.” (EOM).

IDP children to be part
of Uthuru Mithuru art exhibition - A war in any
country would draw painful memories in the tender minds of children. Thus,
it will obstruct their progress towards the development of the country
said Deputy Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare, Lionel
Premasiri declaring open the “Uthuru Mithuru” art exhibition scheduled
to be held on May18 and 19 at the National Art Gallery, Colombo. A hundred
students living in IDP camps in Settikulum, Vavuniya will form part of the
invitees. Over 350 paintings will be featured at the exhibition. Some of
the paintings were earlier published in the Daily News. There will be 40
girls and 60 boys from different areas such as Mannar, Pooneryn,
Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi would visit Colombo. It will also give them the
opportunity to mix with students in the South thereby providing an
opportunity to forget their unhappy past, the Deputy Minister said. Devi
Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo and Ananda Vidyalaya has taken measures to
accommodate them in their hostels together with students who can
communicate in Tamil. Principals of the two schools said that they had
taken this opportunity willingly to show affection towards the children.
Most of the paintings are on different themes such as Mother, Freedom and
Honesty. They will make their appearance at the Art Gallery calling out
for their lost freedom
(Daily News).

The Good and the Bad in
Terrorism - by Lucien Rajakarunanayake - Two of
my friends, let’s call them, Malla and Kella, whose real names are not
revealed for security reasons for safety from the MI5 and all that, now
live in the Mother of Democracy and the Father of Doublespeak on terror.
It is also the place where Parliament Square , a tourist attraction, is
said by MPs there, to be worse sanitization-wise that the IDP camps in Sri
Lanka ’s Vanni that only deported ITN journalists have noticed. You
guessed it right. They live in the United Kingdom , that place where David
Milliband hails from, still believing that the days of Empire and colonies
are not long over. Malla and Kella have sent me some timely definitions on
Good Terrorists and Bad Terrorists, just in case you are so committed to
the democratic way of life that you believe all terrorists are bad; or
like Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is just now giving the world’s most ruthless
terrorists the knock-out blow in the Vanni, says that all terrorists, are
in fact terrorists, and there is nothing good or bad to choose from among
them (Full report
in Island).

Soosai’s family
arrested - The Navy yesterday arrested the
family of sea tiger leader Soosai and several other LTTE cadres, including
those of the intelligence wing, when they were trying flee from the Safe
Zone in a boat. Navy Spokesman D. K. P. Dassanayake told The Island that
on interrogation Soo sai’s wife has told the Navy that Soosai was still
holed up in the small area in the No Fire Zone. "Our officers
recovered Rs 600,000 and some gold jewellery from Soosai’s family,"
Dassanayake said. Those arrested have been moved to Pulmoddai he said. In
the boat in which Soosai’s family fled there had been 11 persons. Five
of them were members of the sea tiger leader’s family. The suspects
identified were Soosai’s wife Sathyadevi, 17-year-old daughter Madhi and
16-year-old son Suresh. Among others was his sister-in-law (Island).

The British making the
World unliveable - By Helasingha Bandara -
Throughout modern history Britain has created everlasting conflicts, just
for their survival, in the so called developing regions of the world,
particularly in Asia and Africa. A monumental example is the creation of
rivalry, animosity and the hatred between India and Pakistan. It is a
unanimous view of the Asians and the Africans that Britain has contributed
to make the world a chaotic an unliveable place more than any other
nation. They continue to do so. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are
recent examples. The British are again about to make a similar blunder by
interfering in the Sri Lanka war against terrorism in the guise of saving
Tamil civilians, influenced by the sleaziest member of the British
Parliament Keith Vaz. The British media has exposed Keith vaz’s sleazy
deals many a times that his integrity is in tatters if he had any at all
to begin with. Read “Britain warns Sri Lankan government- BBC Sinhala,
15 May 2009”
(Full report in Sri Lanka Guardian).

After the war - All
indications are that the decapitation of the LTTE is imminent. Ink on this
comment may still be wet when the final offensive draws to a successful
conclusion. It is not just a civil strife that Sri Lanka has quelled; it
has won a ‘world war’, given the backing the LTTE received from the
leading nations on a flimsy pretext. It is a miracle that a small country
could withstand such unbearable international pressure without buckling
and accomplish a military mission against a ruthless terrorist outfit with
tentacles spread all over the world. Some world powers stand unmasked! By
having made an abortive attempt to scuttle the war against the LTTE, they
have forfeited whatever moral right they may have had to crusade against
global terrorism. It is being argued in some quarters that though the LTTE
is crushed on the battlefront its war will continue in some other form.
Residual terror might last for sometime in the form of terror attacks
mainly on civilian targets in the rural backwaters carried out by some
remaining LTTE cadres. But, a fully-fledged guerrilla war is never a
possibility without a solid base, which the LTTE will be left without
after losing the last patch of resistance (Full
Editorial in Island).

Civilians escape to
government safety - Prof Rajiva Wijesinha,
Secretary General Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process - The
Peace Secretariat welcomes the latest efforts by the Sri Lankan forces,
which have enabled over 5000 more of our fellow citizens to escape from
LTTE clutches. It is also noteworthy that this has not been accompanied by
allegations of large numbers of civilian casualties. It is noteworthy
that, following the large exodus of over 100,000 civilians in the three
days after April 20th, the flood became only a trickle as the Tigers built
up their techniques of imprisonment. Our forces could only move forward
slowly and cautiously, so as to avoid civilian casualties, but
nevertheless they did move. It was however only on May 10th then that
there was another substantial number of escapees. Understandably,
immediately after that there were allegations of massive civilian
casualties. Sadly these were not false, for the LTTE had indeed shot
civilians trying to escape, and when this did not stop them, they had
resorted to heavy weapons. They succeeded then in stopping the flow, and
worse, they almost succeeded in foisting the blame for their murderous
tactics on the Sri Lankan forces (read
full report).

Mind your language: ICRC
and UNDP! - The ICRC’s local Rep has begun
calling the Prabakaran caused hostage situation, involving [at best]
50,000 victims a "humanitarian catastrophe". What words would
this loose-lipped busybody use to describe the over 500,000 civilians
driven from Pakistan’s Swat Valley ? To add insult to injury a UNDP
spokesman now refers to a "bloodbath".... though no piles of
corpses have been sighted even on Tamilnet (Island).

Claymores in Colombo -
We started the day today, 14th May 2009 with the chilling news that the
security forces had unearthed 18 deadly Claymore mines each weighing 7.5
kgs. from a place within the Colombo Municipal limits. These explosive
mines are not meant for setting off in the war zone, targeting their
adversaries in war, bur for us civilians in the South. We are first hand
witnesses to what these handy death dealing, maim-causing devises of the
LTTE can do to a crowded bus or a train compartment. The compassionate,
peace-loving, International Community-busybodies should understand what we
Sri Lankans are up against, and why we are so eager to be rid of these
brain-washed, terror-machines. The question now before us is whether we
squash this canker in one blow regardless of the unavoidable collateral
damage, ( to borrow an euphemism from the West) or put it off, thus
prolonging the agony (Island).

One Problem – Two
Perspectives - In the last few days wars in
Pakistan and Sri Lanka have captured the head lines in the world media
with Presidents, Prime Ministers and senior politicians making statements
on the two issues and leaders of the west, as usual, advising the two
countries what to do. The irony is that these advisors, both Americans and
the British have been fighting terrorism for decades and have been unable
to completely defeat any terrorist outfit! Sri Lanka and Pakistan (and
Afghanistan) are facing similar problems. Though the leaders of all these
countries have the same ultimate goal, the perspectives of America and
Britain is amusingly different when it comes to defeating Al-Qaeda and
Taliban in Pakistan/ Afghanistan and the LTTE in Sri Lanka. The UK/US
partnership freely throws around phrases like ‘grave concern’ and ‘worsening
humanitarian crisis’ when they talk of Sri Lanka but conveniently ignore
the 680,000 Pakistani refugees driven out of their homes by heavy
bombardment in the Swat valley in Pakistan. If death and human suffering
in not bad enough, British PM Gordon Brown said "Let there be no
mistake, Pakistan is already taking action against terrorism. President
Zardari’s troops are risking their lives fighting extremists." And
he pledges 12 million pounds in aid. In the same breath Mr. Brown
expresses his grave concern over the civilians trapped in the war zone in
our country (Full
letter in island).

No way to flee -
Mathivathani, Prabhakaran and two sons holed up in the safety zone -
A latest intelligenceMathivathani & Prabhakaran report reveals that
Mathivathani, along with her eldest son Charles Anthony and youngest
Balachandran are holed up in the New Safety Zone along with Prabhkaran.
Earlier it was rumored that Mathivathani, the wife of LTTE supremo
Velupillai Prabakaran and Balachandran, the second son had slipped out of
Sri Lanka . Unconfirmed reports revealed that they were sighted in
Bangkok, Thailand. But a senior Sri Lankan intelligence officer speaking
with authority under condition of anonymity told Asian Tribune that
Prabhkaran’s wife Mathivathani and his second son Balachandran are in
the No-fire zone with Prabhakaran and eldest son Charles Anthony. However
Asian Tribune reliably learnt that Prabhakaran’s father Velupillai and
mother have long ago managed to leave through Colombo to Denmark. The
Intelligence officer told Asian Tribune that there is no way out for
Prabhakaran and his family to flee the Mullaitivu district as their
movements are being closely monitored by Sri Lanka Defence Forces. When
asked how was it possible to monitor the activities of a highly valued
target like Prabhakaran, he said that it was a very simple intelligence
gathering and monitoring procedure and said they are in a position to
monitor not only the activities and movements of Prabhakaran, but also
that of the remaining two key officials – Soosai the Head of the Sea
Tigers as well as Pottu Amman (Asian
Tribune).

Rebel leader finds time
for the good life - For his whole adult life he
has been in hiding, but as the shells continued to rain down on the strip
of land his rebels hold, another, sweeter side of Tamil Tiger chief
Velupillai Prabhakaran's life was put on view by the Sri Lankan
Government. The album of plundered family snaps shows him enjoying the
sort of lifestyle his thousands of devoted cadres could only dream of:
frolicking in a pool, celebrating his daughter's wedding, tucking into a
banquet. The Government contrasted the comforts enjoyed by the man who is
presumably still at bay in the Tigers' last hold-out with photos showing
the primitive conditions in which his soldiers have long been required to
live and fight. Meanwhile, as his troops fight on, thousands of civilians
trapped in the war's brutal end game are dying. A doctor inside the 5sq km
strip on the northeast coast still controlled by the rebels reported that
renewed shelling had killed at least 50 people in the only hospital in the
so-called "safe zone" (Full
report in NZ Herald).

SC refuses to declare
Tissanayagam etention illegal - The Supreme
Court yesterday refused to declare that Sunday Times Columnist J.S.
Tissanayagam had been illegally detained exceeding 90 days in the
Terrorist Investigation Division (TID). Delivering its Order, Court noted
that it was unable to hold that the petitioner had been kept in the
detention exceeding 90 days illegally without being produced before a
Court of competent jurisdiction. According to the Court Order, Senior
State Counsel Parinda Ranasinghe for the respondents, mentioning the dates
that the petitioner had been produced before the Magistrate, had submitted
that the petitioner had been produced before a Court of competent
jurisdiction on several occasions. He had further submitted that
regulation 19/1 would permit the Defence Ministry Secretary to make an
Order that a person taken into the custody be detained for a period not
exceeding one year. He said the intention of the legislature was to have
persons arrested in terms of the Emergency Regulation be detained in
specified places such as the TID enabling a swift and more efficient
investigations of serious crimes. Petitioner J.S. Tissanayagam complained
to Court that he had been detained illegally exceeding 90 days by the TID.
The petitioner had also filed a Fundamental Rights application in the
Supreme Court against his arrest and detention which was pending. In that
case he had stated that he had not any involvement with the LTTE and
sought to secure his release. The petitioner cited OIC TID Prasanna de
Alwis, IGP, the Attorney General and several others as respondents. Romesh
de Silva PC with J.C. Weliamuna and M.A. Sumanthiram appeared for the
petitioner. SSC Parinda Ranasinghe appeared for the respondents (Daily
News).

C-4 explosives found in
Ratmalana - Following a lead provided by
an LTTE activist in custody, police unearthed 5 kg C-4 explosives from an
isolated garden down St. Rita’s Road in Ratmalana. Police believe the
explosives were brought to carry out an attack in the Mt. Lavinia area,
but is suspected that the explosives were brought to the location for an
attack in the Mt. Lavinia area, recent search operations in the locality
had prevented the plan being implemented. Police investigations revealed
the land had been left unutilized and had led to people using it as a
garbage dumping area. A special police team has been appointed to
investigate into the incident
(Daily Mirror).

Wellawatta suicide victim
identified as a student - The person who
committed suicide by jumping off the seventh storey of a condominium in
Wellawatta on Thursday night following a police ambush was reportedly
belonging to the secondary support group of LTTE’s Colombo network.
Twenty two-year-old Thimoderm Pillai Suchindran a resident of Jaffna was
reportedly an Engineering Faculty student of the University of Moratuwa.
Intelligence sources told Daily Mirror the victim was living in the flats
during his studies at the university and at the same time had assisted
LTTE by keeping these suicide kits. The SIS along with the Wellawatta
police raided the seventh floor of a condominium in Penniquick Lane,
Wellawatta around 9.35pm on Thursday and four suicide bomb kits were
recovered hidden inside the sealing. According to police at the time of
the ambush the student had reportedly jumped off the balcony and committed
suicide. He was killed on the spot. He had recently arrived from Jaffna
and had stayed in the flats without informing the police. The recovered
suicide kits weighed 10 kg, 8kg, 5kg and a powerful claymore mine were
believed to have been kept concealed for several major attacks targeting
VIPs in the city. According to SIS a senior terror cadre apprehended from
Vavuniya had given details about this hideout and had coordinated with the
student to safe keep the explosive kits with him. Following the
information gathered so far the intelligence units are to uncover several
other places in Colombo where the LTTE is believed to have hidden more
explosives (Daily
Mirror).

Sri Lanka & IMF Loan
- By Asoka Weerasinghe, Canada - Dear Brad: Two
days ago, around 10nish in the morning there was a knock on my front door.
I opened the door and found two smartly dressed ladies hugging several
slim publications, with two folio cases slung over their shoulders. They
smiled and I greeted them with a smile. The older one pushed a small
brochure at me and said, “We just want to tell you that there is so much
suffering in the world, and there is one person who could help all of us”.
“Who is it?” I asked! Pointing to the sky, she said, “its God”.
“Really”…I responded turning my face towards the sky to spot this
person. “I never met this person. May be because I am a Buddhist”, I
continued. After exchanging a few God-thoughts, and I holding back my
comments with disbelief, she got out the May 2009 publication of AWAKE,
opened to page 15 which had a photograph of a Mammoth skeleton with the
article ‘When Giants Roamed Europe”, she asked, “Do you know about
Dinosaurs. Do you know who created these monsters, because they just did
not happen?” I was amused. “Have you been to the Museum of Nature,
down town?” I asked. “Yes”, the older one said. “Have you been to
the Dinosaur Hall”, I asked. “Yes”, the older one said again. “I
created that Dinosaur Hall, with two other scientists and a designer. I
know dinosaurs fairly well, and I believe in evolution,” I said (Full
report in Lankaweb).

The
priority is "My family" and "Happy Birthday to my
son".

An
undated picture shows the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader
Vellupillai Prabhakaran (R) standing with his wife Mathivathani (2nd L),
his son Balachandran and his daughter Duwaraka (L) from a collection of
photographs that government soldiers said they discovered recently in a
"hideout" in northern Sri Lanka (see
details)

Let
other Tamil Children be "Child Soldiers" to protect me and my
family.

An
undated picture shows the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader,
Vellupillai Prabhakaran (L), standing with his wife Mathivathani (R) and
his son Balachandran from a collection of photographs that government
soldiers said they discovered recently in a "hideout" in
northern Sri Lanka (see
details).

An undated picture shows the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran (C), with his
wife Mathivathani (2nd R), his eldest son Charles Anthony (R) from a
collection of photographs that government soldiers said were discovered
recently in a "hideout" in northern Sri Lanka (see
details).

Wednesday, 13 May 2009 While over
50,000 LTTE supporters from the Tamil Diaspora took to the streets of
Toronto protesting against Sri Lanka on May 13th, about 70 Sri Lankans
with the help of Sri Lanka United National Association (SLUNA) held a
counter protest over the busy Don Valley Parkway highway. Our mission was
to hold our 40ft banner "PROTECT CANADA! STOP THE TAMIL TIGERS!"
for long as we could and we ended up getting a positive response from
media and commuters on the busy highway by give the "thumbs up",
while pro-LTTE supporters gave us the "finger". Local TV
channels that were covering the Tamil protests in downtown Toronto quickly
drew their attention to a plane carry a similar message "PROTECT
CANADA STOP TAMIL TIGERS" that flew over the Ontario provincial
legislature area at Queen's Park, both the media and protesters were
stunned to the see the plane as their protest/demonstrations came to a
halt for a few minutes. Although we carried our protest peacefully without
disruption to the public, at the end while we all were about to get into
our cars and leave, across the road we were approached by seven or eight
pro-LTTE Tamil men who threatened us with obscenities and tried to
intimidate us by writing down our license plate numbers. These men were
closely watched by under-cover police agents who were there for our own
protection and within a matter of minutes their faces were slammed against
the unmarked police cars (Read
full report in SPUR).

When the camera lies for
terror - In the past few days the international
media has been full of alleged pictorial evidence, mainly through video
footage, of what they claim to be scenes of the "massive humanitarian
crisis" said to be occurring in the north of Sri Lanka, where the
LTTE is holding thousands of Tamil civilians hostage. Viewers have been
shown harrowing details of alleged bombings of hospitals and of many
persons killed and injured, in what are said to be indiscriminate shelling
by government forces, in the No Fire Zone. All of such pictorial material
is attributed to pro-Tamil pressure groups abroad, especially in the West.
Most of these pictures and video clips are also carried on the cyber voice
of the LTTE - the Tamil Net. Very rarely are the exact locations and the
dates and times when these pictures were obtained stated. There have been
many doubts about the authenticity of these pictures, and the time when
they were captured. The news agencies, as well as human rights
organizations, and Tamil pressure groups distribute these freely to show
the world of the alleged disregard for humanitarian needs of the Tamil
civilians held hostage by the LTTE, whose basic human right to freedom has
been denied by this terrorist organization (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

Suicide double-cab
explodes, at least 4 terrorists killed - Vellamullivaikkal -
LTTE terrorists on the brink of total defeat have resorted crude terror
tactics targeting the 58 Division infantrymen advancing along the coast,
South of Vellamullivaikal today (May 15). According to ground military
sources, an LTTE double-cab vehicle laden with high explosives had
exploded prematurely, also killing 4 suicide terrorists at around 5p.m. No
damages were caused to troops, the sources said (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Over
3,300 Tamil civilians rescued yesterday from the "Human Shield of
Prabhakaran"

Sea Tiger chief's family
found among fleeing IDPs - Sri Lanka navy sea
units have identified the family members of LTTE's Sea Tiger wing leader
Soosai this morning (May 15) when they rescued a boat consisting 11
civilians. According to the sources, the sailors have found 5 members of
Soosai's family , including Soosai's wife, son, daughter, sister in law
and her son. The suspects have been identified Sathyadevi (Soosai's wife),
Suresh (16 year old Soosai's son), and Madhi (17 year old Soosai's
daughter). The sources further added that a large sum of money has been
found in the possession of the Soosai's family members. More information
will follow.. (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Tamil Diaspora’s Angst:
Toronto City Demonstrations A Form of Terrorism! - Aloy
Perera - (a freelance writer based in Toronto) When the police
metro/prov./RCMP say that there are no laws to control or prohibit Tamil
Tiger-Terrorism Supporting Demonstrations every Canadian with a modicum of
intelligence or general knowledge knows that they are talking bunkum.
Then, Why in Heaven’s name don’t they act? Enforce the law? Here’s
the reason. It’s because they are servile. They work for their masters,
namely the politicians and not for the public who give them their paycheck;
in Ontario, the liberals in power, have one eye on the potential voting
power of The Tamil Diaspora and other on the liberal minded bleeding
hearts (media & the NDP supporting unions such as the Steel Workers’)
for the sake of being in Tamils’ good books. So are the Liberal Feds.
The Premier of Ontario and his government, The Mayor of Toronto and the
nation’s media must be held accountable for this sorry state of affairs
with their pandering to every vim and fancy of the Sri Lankan Tamil
Diaspora. When will they ever stop? (Full
report in LankaWeb).

Clarifying the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka - Prof.
Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat and Secretary
to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, was invited to
speak at a briefing by Sir John Holmes, UN Under Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in Geneva on
Tuesday. His presentation, including responses to questions, is carried in
full below. Thank you, Sir John, for your account of the current situation
in Sri Lanka, and your efforts to collect funding to help resolve the
problems faced by the displaced. I should note that we would have
appreciated greater notice of this briefing, since it is important to make
it clear that we are working in partnership. I am happy that OCHA in Sri
Lanka, after some years of forgetting this, now recognises the importance
of coordination with government, and working according to government plans
and policies, and that from this year there is much greater attention to
transparency and accountability. You were correct to divide the problems
into three sections, which need to be dealt with in different ways. Before
I look at the most serious of these, the problems faced by the civilians
still held by the LTTE, let me concur with the view that the problems of
those who managed to flee to refuge with the government have been
alleviated to a substantial degree. Though there were difficulties,
especially when over 100,000 got away together, these are now much less.
In particular we are grateful to UNHCR which put up tents on sites that
the forces cleared by working day and night, so that everyone now has
shelter, along with adequate food (Full
report in SCOPP).

The rescue mission speeds
up; Kariyalamullaivaikkal Tsunami Village liberated -
Sri Lankan soldiers now engaged in the final phase of their humanitarian
operation in the Island's northeast, have liberated the inhabitants of the
Kariyalamullai Tsunami relief village According to the defence sources,
over 1590 civilians held at hostage in this area by the LTTE have sought
refuge with the 58 Division soldiers by the time of filing this report.
The sources add that thousands more civilians are arriving at the rescue
points manned by troops. More information will follow... (Sri
Lanka Defence Ministry).

Civilians escape to government safety, rebuke
partisan European interference - The Peace
Secretariat welcomes the latest efforts by the Sri Lankan forces, which
have enabled over 5,000 more of our fellow citizens to escape from LTTE
clutches. It is also noteworthy that this has not been accompanied by
allegations of large numbers of civilian casualties. It is noteworthy
that, following the large exodus of over 100,000 civilians in the three
days after April 20th, the flood became only a trickle as the Tigers built
up their techniques of imprisonment. Our forces could only move forward
slowly and cautiously, so as to avoid civilian casualties, but
nevertheless they did move. It was however only on May 10th then that
there was another substantial number of escapees. Understandably,
immediately after that there were allegations of massive civilian
casualties. Sadly these were not false, for the LTTE had indeed shot
civilians trying to escape, and when this did not stop them, they had
resorted too to heavy weapons. They succeeded then in stopping the flow
then, and worse, they almost succeeded in throwing the blame for their
murderous tactics onto the Sri Lankan forces. Despite condemnation from
those who had not even noticed the purpose of the killings, to stop the
civilians getting away, the forces continued over the next couple of days
to move forward slowly and cautiously. Their patience has been rewarded
today with the liberation of thousands more of our fellow citizens. The
LTTE tried to stop them by firing, but whether it was because some of
their cadres are sick of firing on their fellows, or whether it is because
this time they could not get away with lies because of careful
surveillance, the brutality of the LTTE seems to some extent at least to
have been suspended (Full
report in SCOPP).

Prabhakaran “The
Saviour” Anihilates His Own Tamils - Prof.
Hudson McLean Sooner or later, the Truth Dawns! Whilst the entire world,
with their jaundiced eyes, looks down on the Government of Sri Lanka, as
usual, the “Root of the Problem” is ignored. For over three decades,
the Western world and, the BBC controlled by the Tamil management,
portrayed the Tamil Tiger Terrorist LTTE as “The Saviour” of the
Tamils. First it must be emphasized that the “Root of the Problem” was
created by the British Colonialism, which divided and ruled Ceylon, by
nurturing division amongst the immigrant Tamil tea plantation workers, and
other low class labour in the low lands of Ceylon. The snobbish British
culture was then passed down to the upper middle class Sinhalese who were
largely educated in the UK. The Oxford educated Bandaranaike, a Buddhist
turned Christian by birth, purely for political convenience, went on a
nationalistic rampage, thus exacerbating the Sinhala-Buddhist
nationalistic cause, purely to gain political power. He did succeed. And
created a Dynasty of corrupt family led selfish governments. The 1960’s
created the Sinhala-Tamil conflict which then gave birth to Prabhakaran
and his LTTE movement. The Western countries utilizing the “Monkey’s
Paw” allowed the NATO member Norway, who perceived their own secret
Agenda, to add fuel to the fire (Full
report in LankaWeb).

Rescue all Tamil
civilians near at hand - President Mahinda Rajapaksa -
The freedom of the Tamil civilians held hostage by the LTTE is near at
hand and the rescue of all civilians in the small patch of land held by
the LTTE will be done in 48 hours. So said President Mahinda Rajapaksa
addressing Sri Lankan migrant workers employed at a garment factory in
Jordan, yesterday, May 14. The President said that despite attempts by
some nations to bully a small country such as Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan
people stood firm to uphold the nation's dignity and honor to live as a
proud people. "We have already taken steps to settle over 200,000
displaced persons in the North under state security and we are much fast
in such methods, when compared to other countries which experience war
situations." (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

Suicide kits found in
Wellawatte - Four suicide kits have been found
in Wellawatte. Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said the kits were
found in a search operation conducted last night according to a tip
received by intelligence units. The kits had been hidden in a room on the
7th floor of an apartment complex in Penikwick Lane in Wellawatte. The
police spokesman told SLBC that the person in the flat committed suicide
by jumping off the flat when the police team entered it. The suspect has
been identified as a resident of Jaffna named Surendra. Intelligence units
are conducting further investigations (SLBC).

Ranil meets Solheim -
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is currently in Europe, held
talks with Erik Solheim, the Norwegian minister of external affairs and
the former peace envoy to Sri Lanka, in Norway yesterday. Mr
Wickremesinghe called on Norway to support him in resolving the issues
faced by journalists in Sri Lanka and stressed the necessity of ensuring
media freedom and democracy in Sri Lanka as the war with the LTTE comes to
an end. Mr. Wickremesinghe also held talks with former Norwegian Prime
Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. They exchanged views on the humanitarian
needs of the internally displaced people of North Sri Lanka.
Mr.Wickremesinghe also met members of the International Democratic Society
(Lanka Times).

The final rescue mission
on the way; LTTE continue to fire at escaping civilians -
Sri Lankan soldiers have reached the final phase of their hostage rescue
mission as they opened up an escape route for the last group of hostages
held in the Vellamullivaikkal area last morning (May 14). According to the
latest battlefield reports, troops of 58 Division were just 1.5 km short
of dominating the whole northeastern coast of the Island by last night.
The expected linkup of the 58 and 59 Divisions, who are merely 2km apart
on the coast will mark the total liberation of the coastline in the Island
nation from the terrorist hold. Troops of 53 and 58 Divisions since
Wednesday (May 13) started manoeuvring southwards along the western and
eastern borders of the newly declared civilian safety zone(CSZ) in order
to keep the terrorists engaged on the northern frontage. The 53 Division
marched along the bank of the Nanthikadal lagoon whereas the 58 Division
crossed the open coastal terrain amid heavy LTTE shelling and machine gun
fire. The manoeuvre became a success, as the hostages in large numbers
have been able to find their way to the government controlled areas across
the southern frontage (Full
report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).

Signs of giving up:
Destroy assets, Tiger leaders order - Amidst
mounting international pressure to call an immediate halt to Sri Lanka’s
successful war against the LTTE now in its last phase, the army yesterday
advanced further into the LTTE-held territory to rescue about 2,600 more
men, women and children. But the actual number of escapee was much higher,
well informed sources said adding that thousands await army clearance to
enter the government-held area. The army said that the LTTE trapped in the
rapidly shrinking no fire zone had been caught up on three fronts with the
58, 53 and 59 Divisions mounting simultaneous operations. Military
spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara last night told The Island that the
53 Division had also moved in to the no fire zone. This would increase
pressure on the dwindling LTTE cadre facing the army on multiple fronts.
He said that about 2,300 persons had reached the 59 Division troops
operating north of the Waddivakkal causeway during the day. He said that
some of the civilians fleeing towards the 59 Division troops had been
wounded in LTTE fire. Airforce spokesperson Wing Commander Janaka
Nanayakkara told The Island that 12 wounded civilians had been evacuated
from Mulliyawalai to Anuradhapura. The army said that the 58 and 53
Divisions had received about 150 and 160 civilians respectively. A
military official based in the northern theatre told The Island troops of
the 11 SLLI (Sri Lanka Light Infantry) pushing southwards had established
their positions less than 200 metres away from Farah III ship wreck (Full
report in Island).

Troops in final push
Forces capture Farah III and Vaduvakkal bridge: Troops poised to
completely seal off entire eastern coast: - Ground
troops engaged in their final push against LTTE are poised to completely
seal off the Eastern coast within the next 24 hours as 58 Division troops
advancing towards Mullaitivu from the Northern direction reached closer to
Mullaitivu front after capturing the grounded Jordanian ship Farah III in
the Mullaitivu seas by yesterday evening, Military officials told the
Daily News. The 58 Division which commenced its military operations from
Mannar and liberated the entire North Western coast, is going to reach
this historic moment after marrying up with the 59 Division troops now
advancing from the South to North direction from the Mullaitivu front, the
official added. “By yesterday evening, less than two kilo metres stretch
of beach front was under the LTTE control and it would soon be captured by
the troops once 58 and 59 Division troops marry up in the North of
Mullaitivu completely denying the beach front to the LTTE,” the official
added. As troops closing in on the last terrain of the LTTE, many
explosions were heard inside the safe zone and from Tiger hideouts as they
blew off their ammunition dumps and other weapons before being captured by
the advancing troops. The 58 Division troops under the command of
Brigadier Shavendra Silva last evening captured the Jordanian ship Farah
III which was used by the LTTE to fire upon the ground troops of both 58
and 59 Divisions advancing on the ground and also towards Navy boats
patrolling in the sea off Mullaitivu (Full
report in Daily News).

MORE THAN 5000 TAMIL
CIVILIANS ESCAPE WHILE ARMY REPORTS HUGE EXPLOSIONS WHERE LTTE LEADERSHIP
HIDING AND THEIR RADIO GOING SILENT - By Walter
Jayawardhana - As the Sri Lanka Army closed in on the narrowing strip of
land held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) more than 5000
civilians held hostage by them started escaping to the protection of the
Sri Lanka security forces , army sources revealed. The Army sources said
the exodus began after the Army opened up rescue passages in the narrow
strip of land still occupied by the LTTE Meanwhile the Daily Telegraph
newspaper of London said, “If this terrible episode is drawing to a
close, with the final defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels, that is
wholeheartedly to be welcomed. The Tigers have cynically maximised human
suffering by trapping innocent people inside the only territory still
under their control.” The Army also said huge explosions were heard in
the area where the LTTE leadership is hiding followed by thick black smoke
seen rising up on the ground. They said after that LTTE radio
communication went silent. The London Times on line said . “Thousands of
Sri Lankan civilians waded across a lagoon under fire from the Tamil
Tigers today to escape the pocket of northeastern coastline where the army
has surrounded rebels in what looks like the final stages of a 26-year
civil war.” “The army said that aerial surveillance footage showed
that about 5,000 people had escaped the conflict zone, which now covers
less than 1.5 square miles (3.9 square km), and had come under fire from
the Tigers.” (Read
full report in SPUR).

Obama tells Tigers to lay
down arms - US President Barack Obama on
Wednesday urged Tigers to lay down their arms and let the civilians go.
"Their forced recruitment of civilians and their use of civilians as
human shields is deplorable," said the President. "The United
States stands ready to work with the international community to support
the people of Sri Lanka in this time of suffering. I don't believe that we
can delay," Obama said. "Going forward, Sri Lanka must seek a
peace that is secure and lasting and grounded in respect for all of its
citizens," he said (Full
report in Daily News).

Over 3,000 civilians
breakout Four civilians killed, 14 injured in Tiger shooting: Troops in
rescue mission march ahead: - Over 3,000
civilians were rescued yesterday morning by troops engaged in the final
rescue mission of civilians from the newly declared No Fire Zone (NFZ).
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said over 3,000 civilians
sought protection with the troops of the 59 Division braving
indiscriminate fire by the LTTE during the morning in Vadduvakal. He said
at least four civilians were killed and 14 others injured when the Tiger
cadres opened indiscriminate fire at fleeing civilians from
Vellaimullivaikkal in the NFZ. Troops engaged in the final rescue act are
now marching ahead to liberate the trapped civilians from the LTTE
confined to its last remaining territory, Vellaimullivaikkal. “Troops
are now maneuvering further southwards along the coast,” he added. Air
Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said 12 injured
civilians were airlifted from Mulliyaveli to Anuradhapura hospital. “We
have kept stand-by helicopters to airlift the injured civilians fleeing
from the NFZ,” he added. Over 120,000 civilians have already been
rescued and settled in IDP centres by the Government (Full
report in Daily News).

UNSC demands LTTE to lay
down arms - Recognizing the legitimate right of
the Sri Lankan Government to fight terrorism, the UN Security Council (UNSC)
yesterday demanded the LTTE to lay down arms and allow civilians, still
trapped in the war zone, to leave. Reading out an official statement
following a 'closed-door talk' between the members, the Russian Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin, said "Members of the Council strongly condemn the
LTTE for its acts of terrorism over many years and for its continued use
of civilians as human shield". The statement also stated that the
Council acknowledges the right of the Government of Sri Lanka to combat
terrorism'. Russia holds the 15 member body's rotating presidency for May.
Expressing grave concern of the plight of civilians in the shrinking
pocket of coastal stretch in the North East where LTTE hold them hostage,
the Security Council called on the Government 'to take further steps to
facilitate the evacuation of trapped civilians and urgent delivery of
humanitarian assistance'
(Daily News).

Attempted assassination
of Defence Secy: Key suspect arrested in Vavuniya -
The Police Intelligence Unit arrested a key suspect who attempted to
assassinate Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa at Pittala junction,
Colombo in 2006. Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said Dharmalingam
Dharmatharan alias Kili, a key suspect who attempted to assassinate the
Defence Secretary was arrested at a school in Vavuniya around 1.00 p.m. on
Wednesday. “Kili had come along with the displaced people from the No
Fire Zone seeking protection with the Security Forces,” he added. “As
he is most wanted person, the Police Intelligence Unit of Vavuniya
identified him and arrested Kili when he was brought to the school before
being sent to an IDP centre. “He was handed over to the Criminal
Investigations Department for further investigation,” SSP Gunasekera
told the Daily News. A trishaw laden with explosives attempted to drive
into the Defence Secretary’s motorcade and was prevented by his guards
on December 01, 2006 at Pittala junction, Kollupitiya. Two guards of the
Defence Secretary were killed in the incident (Daily
News).

This is war against
terrorism fought with surgical precision - The
Armed Forces ensure civilians held hostage escape is their primary aim and
over 200,000 have escaped as never ever before anywhere. - Ex Sri Lankan
Police Constable, Ex Constable General of the LTTE and now the LTTE
political chief Balasingam Nadesan seems having problems understanding
English. In a statement he emailed to the Associated Press, he praised
President Barak Obama “for passionately talking about the plight of
Tamil civilians and calling for urgent actions to alleviate the mounting
humanitarian crisis.” But he conveniently overlooked the key message of
President Obama’s message and that was calling the Tigers to
surrender.President Obama further appealed to the Government of Sri Lanka
to find various ways to alleviate the sufferings of the hostages held by
the Tigers. In the entire military campaign connected with the civilians
and the No Fire Zone (NFZ), the primary consideration of the Armed Forces
have been to create ways and means for the civilians to escape and there
has been ample evidence that it is the Tigers who have been preventing
this by shooting at the back of the people who tried to escape
(Full report in Sri Lanka Guardian).

TN Govt. defends stalling
release of LTTE suspect - The Tamil Nadu
Government on Tuesday defended in the Supreme Court its decision not to
permit premature release of P R Ravichandran, a convict in the Rajiv
Gandhi assassination case. Submitting an affidavit before a Bench headed
by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and also comprising Justices P
Sathasivam and Deepak Verma, the DMK Government argued that the convict
may be incited to go against the law again given the current situation in
Sri Lanka. "The current fight between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan
Government may again infuse passion in him to act against the law,"
the state Government submitted before the apex court. It said: "The
petitioner (Ravichandran) was involved in killing of 16 persons who
included a former prime minister, nine police officers and six private
individuals. The killing was pre-planned, a pre-mediated conspiracy
successfully executed with active help and assistance and participation of
the petitioner." Express News I(Full
report in Daily News).

Northern development -
The appointment of a Presidential Task Force to oversee the recovery
program of the Northern Province is a sound move particularly given the
enormous ramifications of the job at hand. The Task Force appointed by
President Mahinda Rajapaksa through powers vested in him under the
Constitution has been given a wide mandate among other things to prepare
strategic plans, programs and projects to resettle internally displaced
persons, rehabilitate and develop economic and social infrastructure in
the Northern Province. It is appropriate that such a high powered task
force be given job of charting the development course for the North
because it is only such a body which has the President's authority that
would get things moving fast. And there is an overwhelming need to get
things moving fast given the unfolding humanitarian crisis which calls for
a quick remedy. One of the tasks entrusted to the Special Task Force is to
apply innovative solutions to problems and constraints confronted in the
execution of its mandate. Certainly a gigantic task as the recovery of the
Northern Province from the ashes of three decades of war needs an
extraordinary effort. Such an overwhelming task cannot be undertaken by
the normal State machinery which is necessarily hamstrung by it's own
limitations. We have often seen how frustrated foreign investors had
thrown up their arms and left the country due to the foot dragging by the
various State agencies and Government regulatory bodies
(Full Editorial in Daily News).

Ground troops brave
terrorists’ last-gasp attacks - The three year
long effort by the Sri Lankan Security Forces to eradicate LTTE terrorism
has reached its climax as troops engaged in the final battle to rescue the
last batch of civilians kept hostage by the Tiger terrorists entered into
its most crucial stages as of yesterday (May 14, 2009) with troops
operating in a hugging distance to the area where thousands of civilians
were living under LTTE detention. It was not only a battle between the
Security Forces and the Tiger terrorists but also a battle between the
truth and the false as Government had to wage a parallel war to combat the
disinformation campaign orchestrated by the LTTE backed media
organizations in their last minute bid to stop the final push on Tiger
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. If ground troops faced its toughest battle
with the LTTE the Government also had to face the toughest battle against
the disinformation campaign and to disseminate the correct version on the
Sri Lankan situation whilst many international organizations including the
United Nations started to explain the situation inside the safe zone as a
‘blood bath’ depending on false information disseminated by the pro-LTTE
media machineries (Full
report in Daily News).

IDPs alleviated to
substantial degree - By Prof Rajiva Wijesinha -
Presentation of Secretary Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights
Prof Rajiva Wijesinha at the ‘Sudan, Sri Lanka, CERF Member States
Briefing,’ conducted by Sir John Holmes UN Under Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the Palais des
Nations, Geneva, on May 12. Thank you, Sir John, for your account of the
current situation in Sri Lanka, and your efforts to collect funding to
help resolve the problems faced by the displaced. I should note that we
would have appreciated greater notice of this briefing, since it is
important to make it clear that we are working in partnership. I am happy
that OCHA in Sri Lanka, after some years of forgetting this, now
recognizes the importance of coordination with Government, and working
according to Government plans and policies, and that from this year there
is much greater attention to transparency and accountability. You were
correct to divide the problems into three sections, which need to be dealt
with in different ways. Before I look at the most serious of these, the
problems faced by the civilians still held by the LTTE, let me concur with
the view that the problems of those who managed to flee to refuge with the
Government have been alleviated to a substantial degree (Full
report in Daily News).

Giving Tigers 'oxygen of
hope - 'President Barack Obama is a leader one
is loath to criticise. But, unfortunately he doesn't seem to follow the
policies of the great man whose bible he used at his inauguration in
January, where a sovereign nation's right to protect itself against
separatist terrorism is concerned. Hadn't President Abraham Lincoln––President
Obama's hero––defended America through military means and prevented
its disintegration, there would not have been a country left for President
Obama to lead today. President Obama on Wednesday took up the issue of Sri
Lanka's war. (Please see the report in this paper today.) It is only
natural that he is concerned about the plight of civilians in Sri Lanka's
war zone, though why he is not so moved by the suffering of tens of
thousands of Pakistani and Afghan civilians, who have borne the brunt of
the US-led war against Taliban/Al Qaeda, is baffling. He asked the LTTE to
disarm and release civilians in its clutches. Then, he urged the
government of Sri Lanka 'to live up to its commitment to not use heavy
weapons in the conflict zone'. He also called upon the SL government to
grant UN humanitarian teams access to the civilians trapped in the theatre
of war 'so that they can receive the immediate assistance necessary to
save lives' (Full
Editorial in Island).

From now on, we stand
united in Sri Lanka - by Lasantha Pethiyagoda
Melbourne, Australia - In Sri Lanka, unlike in the US and its Anglo-allies
in Iraq and Afghanistan, spoils of war, have never been on our0 agenda. In
Sri Lanka, civilians are paying an extremely high price for the foibles of
a few. We must resist large-scale slaughter and instead use all possible
means to isolate and eradicate the evil elements involved. We must never
allow ourselves to be tainted by the barbarism that we claim to be seeking
to defeat. We must remain morally different from the psychopaths who were
empowered and armed by foreign powers, Western interests and even elements
within mainstream society in the bloody history of our war. Tying
opponents to lamp-posts and killing them, throwing acid on young
dissenting boys’ and girls’ faces, striking down perceived opponents
in cold-blood on the street, or delivering indiscriminate death by air or
in public transport vehicles are the devastating language of our war. In
war zones, young people acquire this language
(Full letter in Island).

Joint Lankan, Scotland
Yard operation in "Tiger territory’ net two wanted killers -
TWO killers who fled abroad five years ago after murdering a man in his
home in East London have been jailed for life Wednesday—after being
tracked down in ‘Tamil Tiger’ territory in Sri Lanka. They finally
faced the music at the Old Bailey after being traced to a village occupied
by the Tamil rebels in a joint operation between Scotland Yard and Sri
Lankan police. They were arrested at Heathrow Airport after being flown
back to Britain. Sivajothi Anandaraja, 41, got life with a minimum 24
years, his accomplice Sivapragasam Rajeskanna, 36, got life with 14 years
minimum, for murder and attempted murder of a second victim. Both were
found guilty by a jury Tuesday and were sentenced Thursday-morning for the
brutal murder of 26-year-old Sri Lankan refugee Maheswaran Kaneshan in his
home at Heigham Road in East Ham on January 12, 2004. Maheswaran, who had
applied for political asylum because of the civil strife in Sri Lanka, was
the victim of mistaken identity caught up in a gang feud. Six to
eight thugs armed with hammers sticks and cricket bats battered him over
the head, mistaking him for a member of a rival gang
(Full report in Island).

Schoolgirl recruited to
fight for Tigers - by Stewart Bell - AMBEPUSSA,
Sri Lanka - A demure 16-year-old in a pink sweater, skirt and sandals,
Darshika Kugandirasan doesn’t look like a frontline guerrilla fighter.
She looks like a schoolgirl, which she was until two months ago. She was
studying at Malawi Central College, hoping to become a teacher, even
though classes were often cancelled because of the war. As the eldest of
three children, she knew the Tamil rebels wanted her to join; every family
was expected to hand over at least one child for the liberation cause. She
tried to dodge them by staying indoors and out of sight, but on March 14
they came to take her to the training camp at Mulaivaikal. Her parents
tried to stop them. "They were shouting and crying," she said.
But there was nothing they could do. She was going to become a Tamil
Tiger. Ms. Kugandirasan told her story at a government-run rehabilitation
camp for child soldiers, where she has been living since surrendering last
month. The widespread conscription of child soldiers has been one of the
most disturbing aspects of Sri Lanka’s long civil war. Thousands of
youths have been recruited during the three-decade conflict (Full
report in Island).

Suicide attack on Defence
Secy: Key suspect arrested - Vavuniya Police on
Wednesday, arrested a key suspect in the assassination bid on Defence
Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, on December 1, 2006 in Dharmapala Mawatha,
Colombo. Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said the suspect
Dharmalingam Dharmatharan alias Kili had been living in the No Fire Zone
and moved to Vavuniya along with other IDP’s. Police arrested him on a
tip off at the welfare centre operated at Tamil Maha Vidyalaya, Vavuniya,
he said. The suspect is now being interrogated by Vavuniya police and is
expected to be brought to Colombo soon. Rajapaksa’s bullet proof vehicle
was damaged and Army commandos had to pull him out after opening the door
of the car with a crow bar. Rajapaksa escaped unscathed. Two people died
and 15 persons including the then Foreign Secretary H. M. G. S.
Palihakkara were injured. Investigations revealed that the suicide bomber
was from Jaffna and had been operating in Trincomalee and Vavuniya before
moving to Colombo to undertake the job (Full
report in Island).

Miliband’s comments on
IMF loan immoral: Yapa - The government
yesterday condemned the alleged remarks made by British Foreign Secretary
David Miliband to the effect that the IMF should think twice before
releasing the US$ 1.9 billion loan to Sri Lanka, as there are doubts about
the utilization of the loan in accordance with the agreed conditions,
adding that the utterances were immoral and uncalled for. Media Minister
Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana told the weekly cabinet press briefings at the
Information Department that the Sri Lanka government had not violated any
agreement with donor agencies or countries. “We have a great track
record when it comes to re-payment of loans and adhering to agreements.
There is a Supreme Court ruling that bars the government from diverting
budgetary allocations from one heading to another. Hence, Miliband’s
comments are not appropriate and he has no right whatsoever to make this
kind of statements against the interest of a friendly country. Besides,
the matter is between Sri Lanka and the IMF,” Minister Yapa emphasized.
Commenting on the ongoing humanitarian operations in the NFZ, he said the
armed forces could finish off the fighting in two hours but did not engage
in military operations that endangers civilians. “Do not forget that
there are a large number of casualties among the armed forces as well,”
he said (Full
report in Daily Mirror).

Tamil Nadu defends Rajiv
killer's non-release - By Gopal Ethiraj from
Chennai - The Tamil Nadu government on May 12 defended in the
Supreme Court its decision not to permit the premature release of P R
Ravichandran, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, stating
that the current Sri Lankan conflict may only generate further passion in
him. "The crime is grave and the former Prime Minister was killed
along with 15 others, and the petitioner did the same with known intent.
The current fight between LTTE and Sri Lankan government may again infuse
passion in him to act against law," the government said in an
affidavit before a Bench of Chief Justice K.G Balakrishnan, justices
P.Sathasivam and Deepak Verma. The killing was a pre-planned, re-mediated
conspiracy successfully executed with active help and assistance and
participation of the petitioner, TN government said. The Bench had
directed the petitioner to file his counter the affidavit. An LTTE
sympathiser and one of the key conspirators in the killing of the former
Indian prime minister, Ravichandran is undergoing a life sentence. He had
sought a premature release on par with other life convicts who were being
granted remission. He cited two orders, to plead for his own premature
release, issued by the Tamil nadu government one on September 14, 2005 for
Annadurai’s birthday and the other on May 10, 2007 to mark the golden
jubilee celebration of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s continuous stint
in the state assembly (Full
report in Asian Tribune).

Chief Justice visits
surrendered LTTE rebels - Wanni Chief
Justice Sarath N. Silva paid a visit to Nelum Kulama Technical College in
Vavuniya yesterday (14) to see former LTTE members who are sheltered there
on a temporary basis. The inmates numbering 1784 consist of both who had
surrendered willingly to the Armed Forces and Police and those who had
been captured. LTTE cadres who left their organization and came into safe
areas disguised as civilians and surrendered to Police and the Armed
Forces have been provided with the opportunity for rehabilitation. The
Chief Justice had a very cordial chat with the inmates, met security
authorities, and discussed with them about their plans. Before leaving, he
found time to meet the civilians who have been provided with facilities in
Ramanadhan Relief Camp (Daily
Mirror).

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TRO &LTTENEXUS Abstracts of
articles on the nexus between the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), better known as the Tamil
Tiger terrorists (Full report in
SPUR).